Storing and delivering green hydrogen generated by solar
energy
have the potential to significantly supplement and disburse the share
of promising but intermittent renewable energy. In this scenario,
robust materials capable of delivering solar-driven electrochemical
water splitting for hydrogen generation provide an interesting protocol
that is applicable to all sectors of energy. Electrochemical water
splitting is the conventional and most prevalent technique for hydrogen
generation, which utilizes platinum-based materials for the hydrogen
evolution reaction (HER). However, these platinum-based noble metal
catalysts possess poor cyclic stability, limiting their commercial
application for economical hydrogen generation. Therefore, the development
of efficient non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts is urgently needed
to produce cost-competitive hydrogen energy. Several kinds of non-noble
metal-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts, including carbides, sulfides,
selenides, oxides, and phosphides, have been developed and studied.
The unique physicochemical properties of carbonaceous materials make
them promising candidates to support catalysts. In this paper, molybdenum
disulfide (MoS2) nanomaterial catalysts have been synthesized,
deposited on carbon fiber (CF)-based materials, and then used for
solar hydrogen generation by membraneless electrochemical water splitting.
At 430 W/m2 irradiation and 35 °C working temperature,
the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency is found to be 2.46%.