Growing and Etching MoS₂ on Carbon Nanotube Film for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance

Weiyu Xu; Qi Fang; Daobin Liu; Ke Zhang; Muhammad Habib; Chuanqiang Wu; Xusheng Zheng; Hengjie Liu; Shuangming Chen; Li Song

doi:10.3390/molecules21101318

Growing and Etching MoS₂ on Carbon Nanotube Film for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance

Molecules. 2016 Sep 30;21(10):1318. doi: 10.3390/molecules21101318.

Authors

Weiyu Xu¹, Qi Fang², Daobin Liu³, Ke Zhang⁴, Muhammad Habib⁵, Chuanqiang Wu⁶, Xusheng Zheng⁷, Hengjie Liu⁸, Shuangming Chen⁹, Li Song¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. xuweiyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
² National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. fq4311@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
³ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. ldbin@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
⁴ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. zk2009@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
⁵ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. mhabib@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
⁶ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. wucq@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
⁷ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. zxs@ustc.edu.cn.
⁸ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. lhjbh@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
⁹ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. csmp@ustc.edu.cn.
¹⁰ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China. song2012@ustc.edu.cn.

Abstract

In this work we directly synthesized molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets on carbon nanotube film (MoS₂@CNT) via a two-step chemical vapor deposition method (CVD). By etching the obtained MoS₂@CNT into 10% wt HNO₃, the morphology of MoS₂ decorated on CNT bundles was modulated, resulting in more catalytic active MoS₂ edges being exposed for significantly enhanced electrochemical performance. Our results revealed that an 8 h acid etching sample exhibited the best performance for the oxygen evolution reaction, i.e., the current density reached 10 mA/cm² under 375 mV over-potential, and the tafel slope was as low as 94 mV/dec. The enhanced behavior was mainly originated from the more catalytic sites in MoS₂ induced by the acid etching treatment and the higher conductivity from the supporting CNT films. Our study provides a new route to produce two-dimensional layers on CNT films with tunable morphology, and thus may open a window for exploring its promising applications in the fields of catalytic-, electronic-, and electrochemical-related fields.

Keywords: CVD; acid etching; carbon nanotube; electrochemical performance; molybdenum disulfide.

MeSH terms

Disulfides / chemistry*
Electrochemical Techniques*
Molybdenum / chemistry*
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Nitric Acid / chemistry*

Substances

Disulfides
Nanotubes, Carbon
Nitric Acid
Molybdenum
molybdenum disulfide