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Microwave‐Induced Structural Engineering and Pt Trapping in 6R ‐TaS 2 for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Author(s) -
Najafi Leyla,
Bellani Sebastiano,
OropesaNuñez Reinier,
Brescia Rosaria,
Prato Mirko,
Pasquale Lea,
Demirci Cansunur,
Drago Filippo,
MartínGarcía Beatriz,
Luxa Jan,
Manna Liberato,
Sofer Zdeněk,
Bonaccorso Francesco
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.202003372
Subject(s) - overpotential , materials science , catalysis , exfoliation joint , tafel equation , metal , nanotechnology , transition metal , nanoengineering , chemical engineering , chemistry , metallurgy , electrochemistry , graphene , organic chemistry , electrode , engineering
Abstract The nanoengineering of the structure of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is widely pursued to develop viable catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) alternative to the precious metallic ones. Metallic group‐5 TMDs have been demonstrated to be effective catalysts for the HER in acidic media, making affordable real proton exchange membrane water electrolysers. Their key‐plus relies on the fact that both their basal planes and edges are catalytically active for the HER. In this work, the 6R phase of TaS 2 is “rediscovered” and engineered. A liquid‐phase microwave treatment is used to modify the structural properties of the 6R ‐TaS 2 nanoflakes produced by liquid‐phase exfoliation. The fragmentation of the nanoflakes and their evolution from monocrystalline to partly polycrystalline structures improve the HER‐activity, lowering the overpotential at cathodic current of 10 mA cm −2 from 0.377 to 0.119 V. Furthermore, 6R ‐TaS 2 nanoflakes act as ideal support to firmly trap Pt species, which achieve a mass activity (MA) up 10 000 A g Pt −1 at overpotential of 50 mV (20 000 A g Pt −1 at overpotentials of 72 mV), representing a 20‐fold increase of the MA of Pt measured for the Pt/C reference, and approaching the state‐of‐the‐art of the Pt mass activity.