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Boosting Hydrogen Evolution on MoS 2 /CNT Modified by Poly(sodium‐p–styrene sulfonate) via Proton Concentration in Acid Solution
Author(s) -
Wang Pengfei,
Dai Yuxue,
Wang Xueying,
Ren Xiang,
Luo Chuannan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.202100608
Subject(s) - polyacrylic acid , tafel equation , polyelectrolyte , carbon nanotube , catalysis , materials science , electrolyte , chemical engineering , electrocatalyst , acrylic acid , sulfonate , nanotechnology , sodium , chemistry , copolymer , polymer , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , electrode , composite material , engineering , metallurgy
Engineering the surface and the electronic structure of electrocatalysts is a typical and effective strategy to enhance their catalytic performance. Herein, MoS 2 grown on carbon nanotubes (MoS 2 /CNT) were synthesized through a hydrothermal process, then certain polyelectrolytes were absorbed onto the surface, including poly(sodium‐p‐styrenesulfonate) (PSS), polyacrylic acid (PAA), sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). The negatively charged groups of PSS could enrich the surrounding H + in the acid electrolyte via electrostatic interaction, which greatly improved the catalytic performance of PSS‐MoS 2 /CNT. Moreover, the introduction of carbon nanotubes not only improved the conductivity of the electrocatalyst, but also prevented the agglomeration of MoS 2 nanosheets. Therefore, PSS‐MoS 2 /CNT displayed the best hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution. It only required 114 mV to obtain the current density of 10 mA ⋅ cm −2 with a small Tafel slope of 46.05 mV ⋅ dec −1 . Different polyelectrolytes were also used to modify MoS 2 /CNT to verify the factors to affect the HER performance of MoS 2 /CNT. This strategy provides a practicable direction of the synthesis of efficient, low‐cost and environmentally‐friendly electrocatalysts for HER.