Ball-milled MoS2 with graphene shows enhanced catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction.

Abstract

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an important phenomenon in water splitting. Consequently, the development of an active, earth-abundant, and inexpensive HER catalyst is highly desired. MoS₂ has drawn considerable interest as an HER catalyst because it is composed of non-precious metal and exhibits high catalytic activity in the nanosheet form. In this study, size-controlled MoS₂ particles were synthesized by ball milling. The as-prepared samples exhibited significantly enhanced electrochemical and catalytic properties compared to those of pristine bulk MoS₂. Furthermore, the HER activity improved further upon the introduction of graphene into the as-prepared ball-milled samples. In particular, the MoS₂ sample ball-milled for 12 h mixed with graphene exhibited optimal performance, showing an overpotential (160 mV at 10 mA cm^-2) that was ~ 335 mV lower than that of pristine bulk MoS₂. The superior catalytic activity was ascribed to the exposed edge sites, sulfur vacancies, and 1T phase of MoS₂, as well as the noteworthy fortifying effect of the electronically conductive flexible material, graphene. The results provide a promising strategy for its application as an efficient and stable HER catalyst.