Electrodeposited Co1-xMoxS thin films as highly efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction in acid medium

Abstract

Efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are significant for the advancement of effective water splitting reaction. Herein, we describe the growth of cobalt molybdenum sulfide (CoMoS) at different composites of tightly packed nanocrystals, prepared by one step process of simple electrodeposition method on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate as highly active and low-cost HER electrocatalyst. The prepared electrocatalysts were characterized via various analytical techniques. The HER activity was evaluated through electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry technique and impedance analysis. Exhaustive electrochemical examinations show that the Co0.95Mo0.05S achieved higher cathodic current density value of 14.3 mA/cm2 at η = 250 mV with a lowest Tafel slope value towards HER. Furthermore, the active surface area of the as-deposited composite materials has been calculated by cyclic voltammetry analysis. Hence, the present work illustrates that the Co0.95Mo0.05S composite can serve as an encouraging cost-effective substitute to platinum-based electrocatalyst for HER.