Activating MoS₂ basal planes for hydrogen evolution through direct CVD morphology control

Abstract

Monolayer hexagonal MoS2 flakes with abundant sulphur vacancies directly grown by CVD have remarkably improved catalytic efficiency compared with the triangular ones, superior to existing MoS2 grown by CVD for electrochemical hydrogen production.

Transition Metal Chalcogenides as a Versatile and Tunable Platform for Catalytic CO2 and N2 Electroreduction

“…The introduction of defects and distortion is the main technique employed to activate the otherwise inert basal plane. The activity of the vacancy sites has been extensively studied in the literature: ,− the missing chalcogen atom exposes the underlying metal site, whose dangling bonds states of the d-orbital are responsible for the formation of the gap states near the Fermi level, with an energy reaching that of the Fermi level as the chalcogen vacancy percentage increases. These gap states can hybridize with the orbitals of the reactant, thus favoring their adsorption and improving the catalytic activity of the material.…”

Large-Area MoS2 Nanosheets with Triangular Nanopore Arrays as Active and Robust Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

“…Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC), has emerged as a novel electrocatalyst because of its low cost, earth abundance, and excellent electrochemical stability. − In particular, its catalytic performance can be modulated by varying the structural characteristics. Because the 2H phase of MoS 2 exhibits low catalytic activity, various structural engineering methods have been developed to transform MoS 2 from the 2H phase to the more active 1T phase. − Although the phase transition can significantly improve the electrocatalytic performance of MoS 2 , it involves complex fabrication procedures and a highly reactive reagent ( n -butyllithium), which has adverse effects on the intrinsic nature of MoS 2 .…”

“…Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC), has emerged as a novel electrocatalyst because of its low cost, earth abundance, and excellent electrochemical stability. − In particular, its catalytic performance can be modulated by varying the structural characteristics. Because the 2H phase of MoS 2 exhibits low catalytic activity, various structural engineering methods have been developed to transform MoS 2 from the 2H phase to the more active 1T phase. − Although the phase transition can significantly improve the electrocatalytic performance of MoS 2 , it involves complex fabrication procedures and a highly reactive reagent ( n -butyllithium), which has adverse effects on the intrinsic nature of MoS 2 . In addition, the introduction of vacancy, strain, and edge defects can enhance the catalytic performance of MoS 2 ; however, controlling the density, uniformity, and activity of these structures remains challenging. − The random edge configuration has deficient catalytic performance because it contains a substantial number of S-terminated edges that are less active than Mo-terminated ones .…”

Advanced Strategies to Improve Performances of Molybdenum-Based Gas Sensors

“…However, the 2H-MoS 2 has limitations, primarily due to limited active sites and small adsorption energy. Several studies show that the active sites of 2H-MoS 2 are only located on the edge of the crystal structure, while the abundant basal plane is inert for chemical reactions [197][198][199]. In comparison, the 1 T/1 T' of MoS 2 is more active than 2H-MoS 2 .…”