Two-Dimensional Confined Synthesis of Metastable 1T-Phase MoS<sub>2</sub> Nanosheets for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Shize Geng, Yujin Ji, Binbin Jiang, Wenxiang Zhu, Kui Yin, Mingwang Shao, Fan Liao, Huixian Shi, Yafei Cheng, Youyong Li, Qi Shao
Abstract
Metallic molybdenum sulfide (1T-MoS2) is considered as the most promising electrocatalyst for the acidic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nevertheless, exploring a facile and effective approach for achieving high-purity 1T-MoS2 is still full of challenges. Herein, we demonstrate a two-dimensional material-assisted confined synthetic strategy, as an available method to construct and stabilize 1T-MoS2. During the hydrothermal process, the interaction between the N source and MoS2 is largely enhanced in a two-dimensional confined reactor, formed by reduced graphene oxides, successfully obtaining a high concentration of 90.1% of 1T-MoS2, named N-MoS2/rGO. The optimal N-MoS2/rGO nanosheets require a low overpotential (130 mV) to reach a current density of 10 mA·cm–2 and a low Tafel slope of 46.5 mV·dec–1. Additionally, they also exhibit high stability for at least 12 h in an acidic electrolyte maintaining 84.2% of the 1T-MoS2 phase. This work opens up an avenue to construct two-dimensional metastable materials for advanced catalysis.