Substitution of copper atoms into defect-rich molybdenum sulfides and their electrocatalytic activity
Zixing Wang, Harikishan Kannan, Tonghui Su, Jayashree Swaminathan, Sharmila N. Shirodkar, Francisco C. Robles Hernández, Héctor Calderón Benavides, Róbert Vajtai, Boris I. Yakobson, Meiyazhagan Ashokkumar, Pulickel M. Ajayan
Abstract
) structures and substitute them with zerovalent copper (Cu) atoms using a colloidal synthesis method. The synthesized materials were studied using several techniques to understand the proportion and position of copper atoms and the effect of copper functionalization. Specifically, the impact of change in the ratio of Cu : S and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of the derived materials were evaluated. This technique paves the way for the synthesis of various functionalized 2D materials with a significant impact on their physical and chemical behavior making them potential candidates for catalysis and several other applications such as energy storage and the development of numerous functional devices.