Abstract
In this study, novel electrodes were prepared via decoration of nanotubed TiO2 (TiNT) films with crystalline two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 species by a one-step hydrothermal synthesis approach. Obtained products were characterized in detail by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, U-I measurements and X-ray diffraction techniques. The influence of hydrothermal synthesis conditions on the composition and morphology of the products formed in the solution and within the TiNT film are also discussed. For the first time, acceptable decoration of TiNT films, by tethering 2D layered MoS2 leaflets onto the TiO2 nanotubes, and on the film surface was obtained in the low concentration solutions, while the performance of these heterostructures in relation to electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was tested. Stable catalytic activity of the obtained 2D MoS2-in-TiNT films was demonstrated under intense HER conditions within the potential window [−0.2 to −0.4 V] vs. RHE with a notably low Tafel slope of 33 mV/decade.
Highlights
We found that TiNT films decorated with nanostructured MoS2 exhibit good catalytic perform‐ ance in electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
The resistance of the same heterostructured specimen after treatment in an H2 atmosphere decreased down to several kΩ. These results led us to the conclusion that, under conditions of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in aqueous solutions, the resist‐ ance of the Ti/TiNT-MoS2 heterostructure should attain the level of tens of ohms, providing the basis for its application as efficient photo- and electrocatalyst due to the large surface size and chemical stability
The use of diluted solutions prevents clogging of the tubes and complete blocking of the TiNT film surface
Summary
The unique physical and chemical properties of various TiO2 nanoparticles and nanostructured films have resulted in a wide range of their recent applications in photocataly‐ sis, sensors, solar energy converters, Li+-ions batteries etc. [1,2] To enhance photocatalytic activity, widen the region of light absorption and increase the photoconversion efficiency, numerous methods have been proposed, including the fabrication of more ordered TiO2 structures [3], anchoring of dye molecules [4], plasmonic species [5,6], semiconducting nanoparticles [7,8] and other dopants [9,10,11]. The heightened attention on 2D dichalcogenides should be linked with unique physical [12,13,15,20,23], mechanical [24], optical [18,19,25] and chemical [14,17,21,26] properties of singlelayered [12,18,20,25], nanoparticular [19,27], nanotubular [28] or even flower-shaped [21] architectures, which are comparable with graphene Owing to these properties, 2D MoS2 was successfully applied in high speed photovoltaic devices, Li+-batteries and highly active catalytic systems. We found that TiNT films decorated with nanostructured MoS2 exhibit good catalytic perform‐ ance in electrochemical HER
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