Electrochemical exfoliation of ultrathin ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide nanosheets to boost the energy-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Jincheng Si; Hanlin Chen; Chaojun Lei; Yange Suo; Bin Yang; Zhiguo Zhang; Zhongjian Li; Lecheng Lei; Junhong Chen; Yang Hou

doi:10.1039/c9nr04587b

Electrochemical exfoliation of ultrathin ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide nanosheets to boost the energy-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Nanoscale. 2019 Sep 21;11(35):16200-16207. doi: 10.1039/c9nr04587b. Epub 2019 Jul 10.

Authors

Jincheng Si¹, Hanlin Chen², Chaojun Lei², Yange Suo³, Bin Yang², Zhiguo Zhang³, Zhongjian Li², Lecheng Lei², Junhong Chen⁴, Yang Hou⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. yhou@zju.edu.cn and Department of Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Liuhe Road 318, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310023, China. suoyange@zust.edu.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. yhou@zju.edu.cn.
³ Department of Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Liuhe Road 318, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310023, China. suoyange@zust.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53211 USA.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. yhou@zju.edu.cn and Institute of Zhejiang University - Quzhou, 78 Jiuhua Boulevard North, Quzhou 324000, China and Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, China.

PMID: 31289796
DOI: 10.1039/c9nr04587b

Abstract

Developing low-cost and highly efficient transition metal dichalcogenides as alternative electrocatalysts has become an urgent need for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the inert basal planes of transition metal dichalcogenides severely suppress their practical applications. Herein, we developed ultrathin ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide (MoSe_xS_2-x) nanosheets by using the cathodic electrochemical exfoliation approach in non-aqueous electrolytes. The exfoliated MoSe_xS_2-x nanosheets demonstrated high structural integrity with lateral dimensions up to ∼1.5 μm and an average thickness of about 3 nm. Owing to the unique ultrathin structure and immensely exposed active sites, the ternary MoSe_xS_2-x nanosheets supported on Ni foam demonstrated a greatly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the HER in 1.0 M KOH with an overpotential of 123 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and high stability, superior to majority of the previously published MoS₂-based electrocatalysts. Furthermore, the ternary MoSe_xS_2-x nanosheets as a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst contributed to enhanced energy-efficient hydrogen production and electrocatalytic synthesis of ammonia.