Three-dimensional cross-linked Co-MoS2 catalyst on carbon cloth for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

MoS2-Based materials are promising hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. However, their HER activities are restrained by the poor population of HER activated edge centers, the large area exposed HER inert basal planes, and low conductivity. Fixing these problems on one system is an effective strategy, but it remains a challenge due to the harsh synthetic conditions. Herein, cobalt carbonate hydroxide (CoCH) nanosheets were used as the substrate for preparing a three-dimensional self-supported cross-linked (3DSC) Co-MoS2 nanostructured HER catalyst, which possesses abundant active centers and fast electronic transfer ability. In addition, Co activates the basal-plane sulfur atom in MoS2 to be the HER reactive center effectively. Benefiting from these advantages, 3DSC Co-MoS2 electrode integrated on carbon cloth (CC) shows that it can drive the current density of 10 and 100 mA cm-2 with only 40 and 119 mV overpotentials, respectively, which is superior to other MoS2-based HER catalysts reported recently. This research provides a facile strategy for the improvement of efficient HER electrocatalysts.