Intercalation of coordination polymer to regulate interlayer of 2D layered MoS2 for hydrogen evolution reaction

Activity and stability are the kernels of MoS2-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Here an intercalation-exfoliation nanocomposite (N-MoS2/AOCF) was designed and successfully synthesized through a facile polymer-solution intercalation method, and the molecular chains of amidoximated polyacrylonitrile (AOCF) with coordinating ability was intercalated into the preintercalated molybdenum disulfide (N-MoS2) nanosheets. The structure characterization demonstrated that N-MoS2 dispersed randomly with a small size and curly lamellar structure. Besides, the interlayer spacing enlarged significantly in the AOCF matrix. Furthermore, N-MoS2 nanosheets are tightly combined with AOCF via the coordination bonds between-OH and -NH2 of AOCF; therefore, the diverse active sites and good stability of N-MoS2/AOCF were attributable to the intense bonding effect, inducing desirable HER performance in acidic medium. Notably, the obtained electrocatalyst exhibited a low overpotential (176 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm(2)), a small Tafel slope (51.08 mV/dec), and a large electric double-layer capacitance (39.98 mF/cm(2)). (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.