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Nano Research 2016, 9(3): 837-848 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0963-z
Research Article | Issue | Published: 03 February 2016

Molybdenum sulfide/graphene-carbon nanotube nanocomposite material for electrocatalytic applications in hydrogen evolution reactions

Show Author's Information Majid Khan1,2,§( ),  Ammar Bin Yousaf3,§,  Mingming Chen1,  Chengsha Wei1,  Xibo Wu1,  Ningdong Huang1,  Zemin Qi1( ),  Liangbin Li1
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and School of Nuclear Science and TechnologyCAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter ChemistryUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230029China
Department of Computer Science and ITSarhad University of Science and Information TechnologyPeshawar25000Pakistan
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at MicroscaleSchool of Chemistry and Materials ScienceUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230026China

§ These authors contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
MoS2, graphene, carbon nanotubes, hydrogen evolution reaction, 3D nanostructure
Cite this article:
Khan M, Yousaf AB, Chen M, et al. Molybdenum sulfide/graphene-carbon nanotube nanocomposite material for electrocatalytic applications in hydrogen evolution reactions. Nano Research, 2016, 9(3): 837-848. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0963-z
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

We report a three-dimensional hierarchical ternary hybrid composite of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), reduced graphene oxide (GO), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) prepared by a two-step process. Firstly, reduced GO–CNT composites with three-dimensional microstructuresare synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of an aqueous dispersion of GO and CNTs to form a composite structure via π–π interactions. Then, MoS2 nanoparticles are hydrothermally grown on the surfaces of the GO–CNT composite. This ternary composite shows superior electrocatalytic activity and stability in the hydrogen evolution reaction, with a low onset potential of only 35 mV, a Tafel slope of ~38 mV·decade-1, and an apparent exchange current density of 74.25 mA·cm-2. The superior hydrogen evolution activity stemmed from the synergistic effect of MoS2 with its electrocatalytically active edge-sites and excellent electrical coupling to the underlying graphene and CNT network.


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About this article

Molybdenum sulfide/graphene-carbon nanotube nanocomposite material for electrocatalytic applications in hydrogen evolution reactions

Show Author's information Majid Khan1,2,§( ), Ammar Bin Yousaf3,§, Mingming Chen1, Chengsha Wei1, Xibo Wu1, Ningdong Huang1, Zemin Qi1( ), Liangbin Li1
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and School of Nuclear Science and TechnologyCAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter ChemistryUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230029China
Department of Computer Science and ITSarhad University of Science and Information TechnologyPeshawar25000Pakistan
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at MicroscaleSchool of Chemistry and Materials ScienceUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230026China

§ These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

We report a three-dimensional hierarchical ternary hybrid composite of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), reduced graphene oxide (GO), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) prepared by a two-step process. Firstly, reduced GO–CNT composites with three-dimensional microstructuresare synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of an aqueous dispersion of GO and CNTs to form a composite structure via π–π interactions. Then, MoS2 nanoparticles are hydrothermally grown on the surfaces of the GO–CNT composite. This ternary composite shows superior electrocatalytic activity and stability in the hydrogen evolution reaction, with a low onset potential of only 35 mV, a Tafel slope of ~38 mV·decade-1, and an apparent exchange current density of 74.25 mA·cm-2. The superior hydrogen evolution activity stemmed from the synergistic effect of MoS2 with its electrocatalytically active edge-sites and excellent electrical coupling to the underlying graphene and CNT network.

Keywords: MoS2, graphene, carbon nanotubes, hydrogen evolution reaction, 3D nanostructure

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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 14 May 2015
Revised: 05 November 2015
Accepted: 01 December 2015
Published: 03 February 2016
Issue date: March 2016

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Majid Khan and Ammar Bin Yousaf contributed equally to this work. This work is supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11275203 and U1232128).

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