Edge-Terminated MoS 2 Nanoassembled Electrocatalyst via In Situ Hybridization with 3D Carbon Network

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2018-09, Vol.14 (36), p.e1802191
• Main Authors: Chung, Dong Young, Yoo, Ji Mun, Park, Subin, Jung, Gwan Yeong, Kang, Jin Soo, Ahn, Chi-Yeong, Kwak, Sang Kyu, Sung, Yung-Eun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201802191

Transition metal dichalcogenides, especially MoS , are considered as promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Since the physicochemical properties of MoS and electrode morphology are highly sensitive factor for HER performance, designed synthesis is highly pursued. Here, an in situ method to prepare a 3D carbon/MoS hybrid catalyst, motivated by the graphene ribbon synthesis process, is reported. By rational design strategies, the hybrid electrocatalysts with cross-connected porous structure are obtained, and they show a high HER activity even comparable to the state-of-the-art MoS catalyst without appreciable activity loss in long-term operations. Based on various physicochemical techniques, it is demonstrated that the synthetic procedure can effectively guide the formation of active site and 3D structure with a distinctive feature; increased exposure of active sites by decreased domain size and intrinsically high activity through controlling the number of stacking layers. Moreover, the importance of structural properties of the MoS -based catalysts is verified by controlled experiments, validating the effectiveness of the designed synthesis approach.