2D metal-organic frameworks-derived preparation of layered CuS@C as an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Given the energy crisis and environmental pollution, it is urgent to design and construct efficient and stable electrocatalyst for the production of clean hydrogen energy. In this work, 2D Cu-contained metalorganic frameworks (Cu-BDC nanosheets) were firstly synthesized using Cu2O cubes as Cu2+ source precursor by a facile and efficient bottom-up method. Subsequently, layered CuS@C were prepared via a sulfidation of Cu-BDC nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The effects of catalyst structure and chemical composition on the electrocatalytic activity were discussed in detail. Experiment results shows that the optimized layered CuS@C exhibits high HER catalytic activity, affording the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at low overpotentials of 128 mV and Tafel slopes of 44 mV dec(-1). The enhanced HER electrocatalytic activity of layered CuS@C may be attributed to structural advantage of 2D Cu-BDC precursors, which endows derived electrocatalyst with high specific surface area and percentages of exposed active sites. Moreover, due to the protection of carbon matrix, asobtained catalysts show high electrocatalytic stability in acidic, alkaline and neutral mediums, making it a potential candidate as electrodes for the application of production of clean hydrogen energy source. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.