Synthesis of 1T′-MoS2 Nanoribbons via Thermal Evaporation for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Two-dimensional metallic 1T′ phase molybdenum disulfide (1T′-MoS₂) nanoribbon is considered to be one of the promising electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on account of its exposed more active edge sites, activated basal, and preferable electrical conductivity. However, the direct growth of 1T′-MoS₂ nanoribbons still remains challenging because of their higher formation energy and the lack of effective methods for morphology control. Here, a facile thermal evaporation method is reported to prepare 1T′-MoS₂ nanoribbons using dipotassium tetrathiomolybdate (K₂MoS₄) as the precursor. Benefiting from the assistance of potassium (K) and the controllable growth conditions inside our homemade thermal evaporation system, we achieve the large-scale synthesis of 1T′-MoS₂ nanoribbons with widths of a few tens of nanometers to a few micrometers and controllable thickness of a few tens of nanometers. The optimized high-purity 1T′-MoS₂ samples exhibit excellent catalytic activity toward HER. This work not only proposes a novel strategy for the one-step fabrication of 1T′-MoS₂ nanoribbons but also demonstrates their macroscopic catalytic activity toward HER.