ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff

Clear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

The origin of high activity of amorphous MoS2 in the hydrogen evolution reaction

Wu, Longfei, Longo, Alessandro, Dzade, Nelson Y.

, Sharma, Akhil, Hendrix, Marco M. R. M., Bol, Ageeth A., De Leeuw, Nora H.

, Hensen, Emiel J. M. and Hofmann, Jan Philipp 2019. The origin of high activity of amorphous MoS2 in the hydrogen evolution reaction. ChemSusChem 12 (19) , pp. 4383-4389. 10.1002/cssc.201901811

Preview	PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (1MB) \| Preview
Preview	PDF - Supplemental Material Download (3MB) \| Preview

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201901811

Abstract

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and related transition metal chalcogenides can replace expensive precious metal catalysts such as Pt for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We investigated the relation between the nanoscale properties and HER activity of well‐controlled 2H and Li‐promoted 1T phases of MoS2 as well as an amorphous MoS2 phase. Our detailed comparison based on a Mo‐S and Mo‐Mo bond analysis under operando HER conditions reveals a similar bond structure in 1T and amorphous MoS2 phases as a key feature in explaining their increased HER activity. Whereas the distinct bond structure in 1T phase MoS2 is caused by Li+ intercalation and disappears under harsh HER conditions, amorphous MoS2 maintains its intrinsic short Mo‐Mo bond feature and, with that, its high HER activity. Quantum‐chemical calculations point at similar electronic structures of small MoS2 clusters serving as models for amorphous MoS2 and the 1T phase MoS2 showing similar Gibbs free energies for hydrogen adsorption (ΔGH*) and metallic character.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Chemistry Advanced Research Computing @ Cardiff (ARCCA)
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1864-5631
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 July 2019
Date of Acceptance:	18 July 2019
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2024 01:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/124416