Ultralight porous carbon loaded Co-doped MoS2 as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline media

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds 2023-12, Vol.967, p.171748, Article 171748
• Main Authors: Fu, Yu-Gang, Liu, Han-Qiao, Liu, Cong, Lü, Qiu-Feng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Co-doping; Hydrogen evolution reaction; MoS2; N-doped carbon
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.171748

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has a Gibbs free energy comparable to platinum (Pt), suggesting it can replace Pt as a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst. However, the shortcomings of the restricted number of MoS2 active sites and poor intrinsic electrical conductivity have resulted in impeding its widespread application. In this work, Co/MoS2@NPC electrocatalyst was prepared by using nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) as a substrate material, and then hydrothermally anchoring cobalt-doped molybdenum disulfide (Co-doped MoS2) on the substrate. Co/MoS2@NPC was subsequently applied to hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline media. It was found that the overpotential of 0.2Co/MoS2@NPC was only 139 mV for HER at 10 mA cm−2 with a Tafel slope of 69 mV dec−1 in acidic medium; while in alkaline medium, its overpotential was 163 mV with a Tafel slope of 106 mV dec−1, and it operated stably over 10 h. The superior HER performance may be related to the point that NPC as a substrate can uniformly disperse MoS2, exposing more active sites and ensuring high electronic conductivity of MoS2. In addition, the introduction of Co into MoS2 changed the intrinsic activity of MoS2 and interacted with CoSx and pyridine nitrogen in NPC, constituting a ternary catalytic interaction. Therefore, this study provides a novel strategy for optimizing the HER activity of MoS2. [Display omitted] •Co-MoS2 adhered to NPC exposes more active sites of MoS2.•Co doped MoS2 and NPC significantly improve the HER activity of MoS2.•0.2Co/MoS2 @NPC requires low overpotentials of 139 mV and 163 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH, respectively.•0.2Co/MoS2 @NPC can work stably in acidic and alkaline media for 10 h.