Controllable etching of MoS2 basal planes for enhanced hydrogen evolution through the formation of active edge sites

Zegao Wang; Qiang Li; Haoxiang Xu; Christian Dahl-Petersen; Qian Yang; Daojian Cheng; Dapeng Cao; Flemming Besenbacher; Jeppe V. Lauritsen; Stig Helveg; Mingdong Dong

doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067

Controllable etching of MoS₂ basal planes for enhanced hydrogen evolution through the formation of active edge sites

Zegao Wang, Qiang Li, Haoxiang Xu, Christian Dahl-Petersen, Qian Yang, Daojian Cheng, Dapeng Cao, Flemming Besenbacher, Jeppe V. Lauritsen, Stig Helveg, Mingdong Dong^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center - INANO-MBG, iNANO-huset

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

The catalytic activity of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is associated with active sites located along the edges, whereas the MoS₂ basal plane is regarded to be inert. However, it is a great challenge to develop a rational way for producing active edges efficiently. Herein, we report a novel, cost-effective top-down process in which we can create a high density of active edge sites on MoS₂ basal plane by selective steam etching. The results show that the etched structure is strongly sensitive to the temperature, which creates 1D nano-channels, 2D in-plane triangular pits and 3D vertical hexagonal cavities on the MoS₂ basal planes by elevating the temperature. The edge configuration is revealed to exhibit a distinct crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, we evaluate the corresponding enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by measurements of the single etched MoS₂ samples in an electrochemical microcell, where the Tafel slope decrease by 49%, confirming the increased the density of active sites. In addition, the method is not limited to 2D materials in a flat geometry alone, but is also demonstrated on 0D MoS₂ particles by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The steam etching reported here offers an alternative avenue to engineer the surface structures of MoS₂ facilitating the electrocatalytic applications of MoS₂ for hydrogen production.

Original language	English
Journal	Nano Energy
Volume	49
Pages (from-to)	634-643
Number of pages	10
ISSN	2211-2855
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2018

Keywords

Electrochemical microcell
Hydrogen evolution
Molybdenum disulfide
Nanostructure
Steam vapor

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10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067

Cite this

@article{f173792ff15e4e4fadefbcdafa847663,

title = "Controllable etching of MoS2 basal planes for enhanced hydrogen evolution through the formation of active edge sites",

abstract = "The catalytic activity of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is associated with active sites located along the edges, whereas the MoS2 basal plane is regarded to be inert. However, it is a great challenge to develop a rational way for producing active edges efficiently. Herein, we report a novel, cost-effective top-down process in which we can create a high density of active edge sites on MoS2 basal plane by selective steam etching. The results show that the etched structure is strongly sensitive to the temperature, which creates 1D nano-channels, 2D in-plane triangular pits and 3D vertical hexagonal cavities on the MoS2 basal planes by elevating the temperature. The edge configuration is revealed to exhibit a distinct crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, we evaluate the corresponding enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by measurements of the single etched MoS2 samples in an electrochemical microcell, where the Tafel slope decrease by 49%, confirming the increased the density of active sites. In addition, the method is not limited to 2D materials in a flat geometry alone, but is also demonstrated on 0D MoS2 particles by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The steam etching reported here offers an alternative avenue to engineer the surface structures of MoS2 facilitating the electrocatalytic applications of MoS2 for hydrogen production.",

keywords = "Electrochemical microcell, Hydrogen evolution, Molybdenum disulfide, Nanostructure, Steam vapor",

author = "Zegao Wang and Qiang Li and Haoxiang Xu and Christian Dahl-Petersen and Qian Yang and Daojian Cheng and Dapeng Cao and Flemming Besenbacher and Lauritsen, {Jeppe V.} and Stig Helveg and Mingdong Dong",

year = "2018",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067",

language = "English",

volume = "49",

pages = "634--643",

journal = "Nano Energy",

issn = "2211-2855",

publisher = "Elsevier BV",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Controllable etching of MoS2 basal planes for enhanced hydrogen evolution through the formation of active edge sites

AU - Wang, Zegao

AU - Li, Qiang

AU - Xu, Haoxiang

AU - Dahl-Petersen, Christian

AU - Yang, Qian

AU - Cheng, Daojian

AU - Cao, Dapeng

AU - Besenbacher, Flemming

AU - Lauritsen, Jeppe V.

AU - Helveg, Stig

AU - Dong, Mingdong

PY - 2018/7/1

Y1 - 2018/7/1

N2 - The catalytic activity of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is associated with active sites located along the edges, whereas the MoS2 basal plane is regarded to be inert. However, it is a great challenge to develop a rational way for producing active edges efficiently. Herein, we report a novel, cost-effective top-down process in which we can create a high density of active edge sites on MoS2 basal plane by selective steam etching. The results show that the etched structure is strongly sensitive to the temperature, which creates 1D nano-channels, 2D in-plane triangular pits and 3D vertical hexagonal cavities on the MoS2 basal planes by elevating the temperature. The edge configuration is revealed to exhibit a distinct crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, we evaluate the corresponding enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by measurements of the single etched MoS2 samples in an electrochemical microcell, where the Tafel slope decrease by 49%, confirming the increased the density of active sites. In addition, the method is not limited to 2D materials in a flat geometry alone, but is also demonstrated on 0D MoS2 particles by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The steam etching reported here offers an alternative avenue to engineer the surface structures of MoS2 facilitating the electrocatalytic applications of MoS2 for hydrogen production.

AB - The catalytic activity of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is associated with active sites located along the edges, whereas the MoS2 basal plane is regarded to be inert. However, it is a great challenge to develop a rational way for producing active edges efficiently. Herein, we report a novel, cost-effective top-down process in which we can create a high density of active edge sites on MoS2 basal plane by selective steam etching. The results show that the etched structure is strongly sensitive to the temperature, which creates 1D nano-channels, 2D in-plane triangular pits and 3D vertical hexagonal cavities on the MoS2 basal planes by elevating the temperature. The edge configuration is revealed to exhibit a distinct crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, we evaluate the corresponding enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by measurements of the single etched MoS2 samples in an electrochemical microcell, where the Tafel slope decrease by 49%, confirming the increased the density of active sites. In addition, the method is not limited to 2D materials in a flat geometry alone, but is also demonstrated on 0D MoS2 particles by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The steam etching reported here offers an alternative avenue to engineer the surface structures of MoS2 facilitating the electrocatalytic applications of MoS2 for hydrogen production.

KW - Electrochemical microcell

KW - Hydrogen evolution

KW - Molybdenum disulfide

KW - Nanostructure

KW - Steam vapor

U2 - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067

DO - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.067

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85047069848

SN - 2211-2855

VL - 49

SP - 634

EP - 643

JO - Nano Energy

JF - Nano Energy

ER -