1T Phase Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Metallic (1T) phases of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising alternatives for Pt as efficient and practically applicable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. Group 6 1T TMDs are the most widely studied due to their impressively higher HER activity than that of their 2H counterparts. However, the mediocre electrochemical and thermal stability of these TMDs has limited their widespread application. Over the last decade, while immense attempts have been made to enhance the stability of group 6 1T TMDs, 1T TMDs based on other transition metals have gained increasing attention. To address the great potential of the 1T TMD family for industry-scale HER and inspire future breakthroughs in realizing their scalable utilization, a critical overview of 1T TMDs for application in HER is presented in this work. With an emphasis on the recent progress, the main contents include the elucidation of the “structure–performance” relationship in 1T TMD-based HER, the approaches for the synthesis and morphology control of 1T TMDs, and the types of 1T TMD-based materials that have been explored for efficient and long-term water splitting. Before the main discussions, the reaction mechanism of HER and the evaluation indexes for HER catalysts are introduced. Moreover, future perspectives on overcoming the primary challenges that hinder the practical application of 1T TMDs for HER are provided.