Microwave-assisted dispersant-induced uniform loading of 1T/2H phase MoS₂ onto CNTs for hydrogen evolution reaction

Uniform loading of MoS₂ onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is expected to promote the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) efficiency, as the incorporation of CNTs can greatly improve the conductivity of the composites while increasing the exposure of active sites. However, it still lacks a facile and convenient method to achieve this goal. In this work, CNT@MoS₂ composite with uniform core@shell structure was prepared by a dispersant-induced strategy. An adenine-derived dispersant (DSiA) containing reactive silanol groups (Si–OH) was used and played a key role in the generation of CNT@MoS₂. DSiA not only made CNTs uniformly dispersed in water, but also functioned as a bridge, providing coordinate sites for the in-situ growth of MoS₂ on CNTs. Microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis route was adopted to generate 1T-MoS₂ to promote the catalytic activity. Experimental result reveals that the 1T phase accounts for about 67% of total MoS₂. The composite shows an overpotential of 236 mV for HER at the current density of 10 mA/cm² (η₁₀), with a Tafel slope of 80 mV/dec in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄. Carbon cloth that loaded with MoS₂ and CNTs (CC/CNT/MoS₂) was also prepared in the presence of DSiA while without any other binder, and the flexible electrode shows an η₁₀ value of 219 mV. This work provides an innovative strategy for the fabrication of composite electrode for electrocatalytic applications.