MoS2/NbSe2 Hybrid Nanobelts for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution

Recently, MoS2 nanosheets have attracted extensive interest for the application in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) because of its highly active edge sites and chemical stability. However, the aggregation in nanosized MoS2 reduces the density of exposed surface edge sites, degrading its electrochemical catalytic activity. In this paper, we report a hybrid structure of MoS2/NbSe2 nanobelts with enhanced electrochemical catalytic performance. The hybrid structure feature and chemical composition were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. With the introduction of one dimensional metallic NbSe2, the MoS2 surface edge sites were highly exposed in MoS2/NbSe2 nanobelts, resulting in an enhanced electrocatalytic performance in HER. A Tafel slope of 79.5 eV/dec was obtained in MoS2/NbSe2, much lower than that of MoS2 (137.6 eV/dec). At the over potential of -0.65 V vs. RHE, the catalytic current density of MoS2/NbSe2 nanobelts is 205 mA/cm(2), five times larger than that of MoS2 nanosheets (43 mA/cm(2)). (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.