Abstract
Recently, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), represented by MoS2, have been proven to be a fascinating new class of electrocatalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The rich chemical activities, combined with several strategies to regulate its morphologies and electronic properties, make MoS2 very attractive for understanding the fundamentals of electrocatalysis. In this review, recent developments in using MoS2 as electrocatalysts for the HER with high activity are presented. The effects of edges on HER activities of MoS2 are briefly discussed. Then we demonstrate strategies to further enhance the catalytic performance of MoS2 by improving its conductivity or engineering its structure. Finally, the key challenges to the industrial application of MoS2 in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution are also pointed out.
Highlights
In recent decades, the development of new energy sources has become a hot topic in academia [1,2,3,4].Hydrogen, with its high energy density (143 kJ/g), has been proposed as a promising candidate to replace fossil fuels in the future due to the fact that the only combustion product is water, which is environmentally friendly [5,6,7]
The high surface curvature combined with the nanoscale electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
During the HER process, the electrochemical reaction only occurs at the outmost layer of the MoS2 film, and the electrons have to transfer from the glassy carbon electrode to the outermost layer [76]
Summary
The development of new energy sources has become a hot topic in academia [1,2,3,4]. Theoretical calculations and experimental results have revealed that the basal plane of MoS2 is semiconducting and catalytically inert, whereas the surface edges are metallic and chemically active [24,25,26] Catalytically inert, whereas the surface edges are metallic and chemically active [24,25,26]. If the chemical bonds free energy for hydrogen adsorption on the active site (∆G ) [24,27,28]. An optimal catalyst should have the Gibbs free the Gibbs free energy for hydrogen adsorption close to zero (ΔGH ≈ 0) [29,30,31,32]. We will summarize the concrete approaches to further enhancing the catalytic performance of of MoS2 , like activating the inert S edges via doping, forming an amorphous structure, growing. We will briefly discuss the challenges pertaining to the rapid development of MoS2 as well as its industrial applications
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