The electrolytical decomposition of water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen gas could foreseeably be the ideal fuel for the future of the planet.  The wheels of industry have, since the dawn of the industrial revolution, been powered through the combustion of coal and petroleum distillates.  The beauty of hydrogen lies in the fact that its combustion is non-polluting and returns it to its previous state, water, which can then be released to the environment.  The splitting of water requires a potential difference of -1.23 V, using a noble metal surface catalyst such as platinum it is possible to get close to this potential.  Although efficient, platinum is prohibitively expensive and its quantities are limited.  Here the challenge is to produce an active material to lower the overpotential of hydrolysis effectively and economically.  A facile one-step hydrothermal synthesis of MoS<sub>2</sub> has been used to produce an efficient active material for the H.E.R. which is more cost effective and plentiful than platinum and has the further benefit of being an effective pseudocapacitive material that can be used in electrical charge storage.  Electrochemical analysis using galvanostatic charge discharge indicate a specific capacitance of ~153 F/g and cyclic voltammetry shows a specific capacitance of ~686 F/g.  The morphology of the material was examined using SEM and reveals a spherical morphology with thin sheets emanating from the surface.  Preliminary studies of the catalytic activity of the materials are promising and will be discussed later.<br/>

Nanostructured carbon decorated molybdenum sulfide for the catalytic decomposition of water to produce hydrogen and for supercapacitive applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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