Bridging metal-ion induced vertical growth of MoS2 and overall fast electron transfer in (C,P)3N4-M (Ni2+, Co2+)-MoS2 electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Highly dispersed molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets are perpendicularly grown on the phosphorus-doped carbon nitride ((C,P)3N4) nanolayers assisted with nickel and cobalt as metal-ion bridges in order to form high-quality (C,P)3N4-M (Ni2+, Co2+)-MoS2 electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Our research demonstrates that nickel and cobalt ions assisted growth could remarkably expose more active sites as a result of less layers of MoS2 and enhance the charge transfer efficiency for the well-knit and short-distance charge transfer channels between (C,P)3N4 and MoS2. In addition, P dopants make the semiconducting basal plane of carbon nitride conductive, which is critical to forming an overall fast electron transfer tunnel. Benefiting from the vertical structure and holistic charge transfer tunnels' modulation, the (C,P)3N4-M (Ni2+, Co2+)-MoS2 electrocatalysts exhibit preferable catalysis toward HER in acid medium, evidenced by the lower overpotential and smaller Rct compared to those without metal-ion bridge between them. This strategy of forging metal-ion bridges provides avenues for modifying the intrinsic catalytic activity of electrocatalysts towards HER and other energy-related processes.