Interface Effect of Ru‐MoS<sub>2</sub> Nanoflowers on Lignin Substrate for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Activity
Yeqing Xu, Xingxing Jiang, Gonglei Shao, Haiyan Xiang, Sisi Si, Xing Li, Travis Shihao Hu, Guo Hong, Shengyi Dong, Huimin Li, Yexin Feng, Song Liu
Abstract
The catalytic performance of Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has been still far from that of Pt‐based catalysts for inadequate active sites and sluggish electron transfer kinetics. Through engineering the interface between MoS 2 ‐based materials and supported substrates, hybrid Ru‐doped MoS 2 on carbonized lignin (CL) is designed and prepared as efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The CL substrate not only facilitates the growth of MoS 2 nanoflowers, but also promotes the electron transfer. Ru doping increases active sites greatly for HER. The hybrid catalyst achieves a low onset overpotential of 25 mV and a low Tafel slope of 46 mV dec −1 . The favorable HER activity ascribes to the interfacial interaction between MoS 2 and CL. Density functional theory calculations further confirm the improved HER performance with doped Ru atoms. This study presents a prototype application to design electrocatalysts with enhanced carrier mobility and high‐density active sites based on interface effect.