A flower-like CoS2/MoS2 heteronanosheet array as an active and stable electrocatalyst toward the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media

A review of modulation strategies for improving the catalytic performance of transition metal sulfide self-supported electrodes for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrocatalytic water splitting is considered to be one of the most promising technologies for large-scale sustained production of H2. Developing non-noble metal-based electrocatalytic materials with low cost, high activity and long life is the key to electrolysis of water. Transition metal sulfides (TMSs) with good electrical conductivity and a tunable electronic structure are potential candidates that are expected to replace noble metal electrocatalysts. In addition, self-supported electrodes have fast electron transfer and mass transport, resulting in enhanced kinetics and stability. In this paper, TMS self-supported electrocatalysts are taken as examples and their recent progress as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts is reviewed. The HER mechanism is first introduced. Then, based on optimizing the active sites, electrical conductivity, electronic structure and adsorption/dissociation energies of water and intermediates of the electrocatalysts, the article focuses on summarizing five modulation strategies to improve the activity and stability of TMS self-supported electrode electrocatalysts in recent years. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for the future development of TMS self-supported electrodes in the field of electrocatalytic water splitting are presented.

Sulfuration Temperature-Dependent Hydrogen Evolution Performance of CoS2 Nanowires

Densely aligned CoS2 nanowires (NWs) on chemically durable stainless steel fibers felt (SSF) substates were synthesized by thermal sulfuring Co3O4 NWs, which were oxidized from hydrothermal synthesized Co(OH)y(CO3)(1−0.5y)·nH2O NWs precursors. The effect of sulfuration temperature on the composition, morphology, and HER performance of the products was studied in detail. The results show that the high purity together with the enlarged density of active sites given by the twisted morphology of the CoS2 NWs sulfured at 500 °C guarantee its superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance compared with other samples sulfured at lower temperatures.