General Thermal Texturization Process of MoS2 for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a non-precious metal catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• Pristine MoS2 exhibits low HER activity due to the inert basal (0001) plane.
• Synthesized MoS2 is typically used, not the mineral form.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for activating the basal plane of pristine MoS2.
• To enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance of MoS2 catalysts.
• To investigate the effect of basal plane texturization on HER activity.

Main Methods:

• A general thermal annealing process in a hydrogen environment was employed.
• Sulfur removal from the MoS2 surface was induced to create edge sites.
• The process was applied to various MoS2 morphologies (bulk mineral, films, nanoflakes).

Main Results:

• The thermal process successfully texturized the MoS2 basal plane.
• An increased density of HER-active edge sites was generated.
• Pristine MoS2 demonstrated high HER catalytic performance across different forms.
• An overpotential (η) of 170 mV was achieved to reach 10 mA/cm(2) current density.

Conclusions:

• Basal plane texturization is an effective strategy to activate pristine MoS2 for HER.
• The simple thermal annealing method provides high HER catalytic performance in various MoS2 materials.
• This approach offers a pathway to utilize abundant pristine MoS2 for efficient hydrogen production.