The search for new electrocatalyst materials to replace platinum, an expensive and scarce metal, has been an area of research by many laboratories around the world. We too have been participating in this research and here report very recent advances in electrocatalyst development. In this work, we have demonstrated a simple method to improve the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of transition metal semiconductors via the formation of a MoSP solid solution. The HER activity of the solid solution can be further improved by increasing the surface area of the electrocatalyst, such as by employing MoS2nanoparticles as a catalyst precursor or by adding carbon black as a substrate. The formation of a solid solution leads to an increase in surface roughness and the electrochemical surface area of the materials. In addition, theoretical calculation suggests that substitution of sulfur by phosphorus improves the HER catalytic activity of the MoS2 basal plane. The method developed here may also have influence on the development of other catalysts, especially semiconductors that are based on transition metals such as Co, Ni and W.

High-performance hydrogen evolution from MoS2(1-x)Px solid solution

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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