Simultaneous edge and electronic control of MoS2 nanosheets through Fe doping for an efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Electronic regulation and structural engineering at the atomic level of electrocatalysts is of vital importance to a highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here we report Fe-doped MoS2 (Fe-MoS2) nanosheets in which the Fe dopant influences the synthesis process to simultaneously tune the edge sites and electronic properties of MoS2. Impressively, the Fe-MoS2 nanosheets exhibit greatly improved catalytic activity towards the OER, achieving a current density of 50 mA cm(-2) at 290 mV and satisfactory durability in 1.0 M KOH. Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirms that the Fe-MoS2 nanosheets undergo an atomic-scale structural evolution from horizontally aligned planes to vertically aligned planes, maximally exposing their edge sites. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the substitution of Fe at the Mo site in MoS2 has the lowest formation energy, offering a low overpotential of 328 mV for the OER.