Vanadium-doped MoSe2 Nanosheets: Induced lattice contraction and enhanced conductivity for superior hydrogen evolution reaction
Ramaraj Sukanya, Raj Karthik, Abdullah Al Mahmud, Deivasigamani Ranjith Kumar, Eswaran Kamaraj, Carmel B. Breslin, Jae‐Jin Shim
Abstract
In the modern world with a growing global energy demand, renewable hydrogen has emerged as a viable and attractive option. Herein, a highly efficient electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an acidic medium was designed by doping MoSe 2 with vanadium (V-MoSe 2 ). The V-doped MoSe 2 was formed using a simple hydrothermal reaction and characterised using FE-SEM, FE-TEM, XRD and XPS. The V-MoSe 2 was superior to MoSe 2 and comparable to Pt/C in the HER. An overpotential of 217 mV for Pt/C and 353 mV for V-MoSe 2 was required to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 . This enhanced HER activity seen with V-MoSe 2 was attributed to a lattice contraction, a more metallic-like phase with enhanced electrical conductivity, and an increase in the density of catalytically active sites that promote the HER. • Doping of MoSe 2 with V leads to lattice contraction and an increase in conductivity. • The V-MoSe 2 adopts a wrinkled and rippled surface morphology with a high ESCA. • V-MoSe 2 facilitates the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media.2