Promotion of Sulfur Vacancies and Mn Substitution in Few-Layered Molybdenum Disulfide Towards Superior Hydrogen Evolution in Acid

Abstract

The superior features of hydrogen as an energy source with high energy density (120 MJ kg-1) and zero CO2 emission, makes it a strong candidate for replacing fossil fuels. Recently the European Commission has pledged to invest €470 billion in renewable hydrogen technologies by 2050, with a significant portion of this investment expected to be allocated for the deployment of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers by 2030. Water electrolysis via Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) with Pt/Pd-based noble metals as a cathode, is currently the most effective method for hydrogen production, but alternatives are highly needed due to the scarcity and the higher cost of these metals. One of the promising classes of electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and among them molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has shown promising properties as an electrocatalyst for hydrogen production. MoS2 has different phases of 1T, 2H, and 3R with 2H-MoS2 being the most promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen production due to its semiconductive behavior and long-term stability. However, the poor conductivity, large band gap and no active basal plane towards HER limits the applications of 2H-MoS2 for water electrolysis in PEM cells. Strategies such as introduction of defects, S-vacancies, edge engineering and doping can result in enhanced HER activity of 2H-MoS2. Incorporating different transition metals (Ni, Co, Mn, Fe) into MoS2 lattice can increase the number of active sites and improve charge transfer during the electrocatalytic reaction. Based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies, insertion of Mn into MoS2 layer can decrease the bandgap to zero, resulting in large number of available electronic states around the Fermi level. In this work we introduce Mn doped MoS2 produced via a cost-effective microwave-assisted solid-state approach to explore the potential of few-layered MoS2, doped with different levels of manganese (5%, 10% and 15% at.) for HER in acidic media. The electrocatalytic activity towards HER reveals that 10% at. Mn incorporation into MoS2 lattice, reduces the overpotential (η10) from 210 mV for pristine MoS2 to 148 mV for 10%Mn-MoS2, respectively. In addition, Tafel slope analysis has confirmed a faster kinetics of 10%Mn-MoS2 (53 mV dec-1) compared to MoS2 (75 mV dec-1) revealing the Volmer–Heyrovsky mechanism as the rate determining step (rds). Further characterization by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and DFT studies show that Mn substitution promotes the creation of sulfur vacancies, which in turn enhances the catalytic activity towards HER. Additionally, the 10% Mn-doped MoS2 demonstrates remarkable activity in a single-cell PEM electrolyzer with long-term durability. This study highlights the potential of Mn doped MoS2 as an efficient, low-cost electrocatalyst for hydrogen production, with implications for the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy. Figure 1