Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) is a promising non-precious material for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. However, its inert basal plane, poor active sites, and limited stability hamper their commercial prospects. Herein, Ru, O co-doped MoS 2 (MSOR x ) for accelerating the charge transfer and building more active sites using one-step hydrothermal method is designed to address these obstacles. The outstanding HER performances of the MSOR 1 with low overpotentials at 10 mA cm −2 in both acidic (197 mV) and alkaline solution (43 mV), which even rivals that of commercial Pt/C. Meanwhile, this MSOR 1 is also used as SERS substrate that has excellent sensitivity with the enhancement factor of 1.7 × 10 6 . Additionally, label-free detection of bilirubin using MSOR 1 with a detection limit of 10 −10 m has been demonstrated, also better than that of most previously reported semiconductors. Superior HER and SERS activity, universality in wide PH range and long-term stability are achieved based on the introduction of Ru and O. This study provides guidance for the synthesis of highly active catalysts and SERS substrate, and holds considerable promise for low-cost HER over the whole pH and clinical translation in accurate diagnosis of jaundice.

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