Defect-rich MoSx/carbon nanofiber arrays on carbon cloth for highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Engineering MoS2 catalysts with more active sites and higher conductivity is an effective way to improve its electrochemical activity. Herein, defect-rich amorphous MoSx/carbon nanofiber (CF) arrays on carbon cloth (CC) support (denoted as MoSx/CF/CC) was designed and fabricated, which served as an efficient free-standing electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acid media. This architecture was beneficial to expose more active catalytic sites and improve the electron/ion transport. In addition, abundant defects altered preferred growth direction of MoSx, resulting in the formation of irregular MoSx particles at the surface of CF arrays. The as-synthesized MoSx/CF/CC-2 exhibited excellent stability and superior HER activity, with a small onset overpotential (107 mV) and low Tafel slope (51 mV dec(-1)). Such excellent electrochemical performance was attributed to the enriched active sites and shortened charge diffusion distance. This work would pave a new way for rational design and fabrication of defect-rich MoSx-based composite electrode for renewable energy applications. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.