Volume 44, Issue 13 pp. 10551-10561
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Unveiling active sites by structural tailoring of two-dimensional niobium disulfide for improved electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Hitanshu Kumar

Hitanshu Kumar

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials & Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P. R. China

Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P. R. China

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Ke Wang

Ke Wang

Division of Energy and Environment, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China

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Fei Tang

Fei Tang

Division of Energy and Environment, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China

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Xierong Zeng

Xierong Zeng

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials & Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P. R. China

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Lin Gan

Lin Gan

Division of Energy and Environment, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China

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Yikun Su

Corresponding Author

Yikun Su

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials & Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P. R. China

Correspondence

Yikun Su, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials & Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P. R. China.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 16 July 2020
Citations: 6

Funding information: Shenzhen University

Summary

Here we report, unveiling the active sites for improved electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by structural tailoring of Niobium Disulfide (NbS2). NbS2 synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method, structural deformation is carried out by post-argon plasma and annealing treatment. Plasma-treated (P.T) NbS2 exhibits layer-by-layer stacked (≈250 nm) long and (≈200 nm) wide flakes, which show more edge sites and demonstrates low hydrogen evolution activity. Annealed NbS2 flakes are enlarged in size (≈1 μm) having more surface area which shows additional active basal plane sites and demonstrate remarkable HER performance at 10 mA cm−2. As the thickness of NbS2 is reduced, more basal planes are exposed hence improved HER activity was achieved. This enhanced electrocatalytic change demonstrates that the basal planes are the main active sites for HER in NbS.

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