title: Three-dimensional Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Supported Molybdenum Disulfide Nanoparticles as an Advanced Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.
abstract: An efficient three-dimensional (3D) hybrid material of nitrogen-doped graphene sheets (N-RGO) supporting molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) nanoparticles with high-performance electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is fabricated by using a facile hydrothermal route. Comprehensive microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations confirm the resulting hybrid material possesses a 3D crumpled few-layered graphene network structure decorated with MoS(2) nanoparticles. Electrochemical characterization analysis reveals that the resulting hybrid material exhibits efficient electrocatalytic activity toward HER under acidic conditions with a low onset potential of 112 mV and a small Tafel slope of 44 mV per decade. The enhanced mechanism of electrocatalytic activity has been investigated in detail by controlling the elemental composition, electrical conductance and surface morphology of the 3D hybrid as well as Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. This demonstrates that the abundance of exposed active sulfur edge sites in the MoS(2) and nitrogen active functional moieties in N-RGO are synergistically responsible for the catalytic activity, whilst the distinguished and coherent interface in MoS(2)/N-RGO facilitates the electron transfer during electrocatalysis. Our study gives insights into the physical/chemical mechanism of enhanced HER performance in MoS(2)/N-RGO hybrids and illustrates how to design and construct a 3D hybrid to maximize the catalytic efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Conghui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazhengjie, Shaping Ba, Chongqing, 400044, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Linping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Japan Policy Alternative Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.
authors.forename: Bunshi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fugetsu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenhao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazhengjie, Shaping Ba, Chongqing, 400044, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xueqiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huiting
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry &Biological Engineering, University of Science &Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xueji
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang