Controlled Growth of Edge‐Enriched ReS<sub>2</sub> Nanoflowers on Carbon Cloth Using Chemical Vapor Deposition for Hydrogen Evolution
Yajuan Zhao, Jianguo Li, Jianfeng Huang, Liangliang Feng, Liyun Cao, Yongqiang Feng, Zhaohui Zhang, Yong Xie, Haolin Wang
Abstract
Abstract Rhenium disulfide (ReS 2 ) has attracted tremendous interests as a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its unique distorted 1T structure. However, the controllable synthesis of ReS 2 with desired nanostructures is still a challenge for improving its catalytic performance. Here, ReS 2 nanoflowers are constructed on conductive carbon cloth by means of ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition. Characterization results confirm that the nanoflower structure with enormous edges is attributed to its propensity of out‐of‐plane growth. To investigate the structure variation of the nanoflowers, systematic growth experiments are carried out. By tuning the growth temperature, gas flow rate, and precursor mass, the edge‐exposed architecture is achieved. The dependence of catalytic performance on microstructures is further established, revealing that the ReS 2 nanoflowers with maximized edge sites exhibit optimal catalytic performance. These findings provide a guideline for optimizing the HER performance of ReS 2 and broaden the vision of improving novel HER catalysts.