Pure and stable metallic phase molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction

Xiumei Geng; Weiwei Sun; Wei Wu; Benjamin Chen; Alaa Al-Hilo; Mourad Benamara; Hongli Zhu; Fumiya Watanabe; Jingbiao Cui; Tar-Pin Chen

doi:10.1038/ncomms10672

Pure and stable metallic phase molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction

Nat Commun. 2016 Feb 10:7:10672. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10672.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 South University Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204, USA.
² Department of Physics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA.
³ Institute for Nanoscale Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
⁴ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
⁵ Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152, USA.

Abstract

Metallic-phase MoS2 (M-MoS2) is metastable and does not exist in nature. Pure and stable M-MoS2 has not been previously prepared by chemical synthesis, to the best of our knowledge. Here we report a hydrothermal process for synthesizing stable two-dimensional M-MoS2 nanosheets in water. The metal-metal Raman stretching mode at 146 cm(-1) in the M-MoS2 structure, as predicted by theoretical calculations, is experimentally observed. The stability of the M-MoS2 is associated with the adsorption of a monolayer of water molecules on both sides of the nanosheets, which reduce restacking and prevent aggregation in water. The obtained M-MoS2 exhibits excellent stability in water and superior activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction, with a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at a low potential of -175 mV and a Tafel slope of 41 mV per decade.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.