Facile synthesis of Ce-doped WSe2 nanoflowers on Ni foam for improved hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Tungsten selenide (WSe₂) has caused worthwhile concern due to its excellent catalytic properties; it has become an important catalyst in the field of hydrogen precipitation from electrolyzed water. However, tungsten selenide performance remains restricted by insufficient active sites. At present, doping with rare earth elements is an important method to increase the active edge sites and thus significantly improve the electrical conductivity. In this text, we have employed a one-pot solvothermal method to in situ grow Ce-doped WSe₂ nanomaterials on the nickel foam (NF) substrate. The catalytic performance on HER of Ce-WSe₂ was significantly improved due to the appropriate amount of doped Ce. By modifying the morphology and electronic structure of WSe₂, its hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalytic activity is further enhanced. In the 1 M KOH solution, 8 %Ce-WSe₂/NF possesses lower overpotentials and Tafel slopes of 82 mV and 88.2 mV dec^‑1 at 10 mA cm^-2, which shows a significant catalytic performance compared with WSe₂. Moreover, the electrocatalyst showed excellent stability with only minor variations over 24 h of continuous catalyst reaction at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. This job provides a distinct insight into increasing HER active site for WSe₂-based catalysts.