Ambient plasma treated iron-doped flower-shaped molybdenum disulfide for efficient electrocatalyst

Developing a nonprecious, bifunctional, and efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting is crucial for future renewable fuel systems, yet it remains a significant challenge. In this study, we tackle the challenge by activating molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) through iron doping and ambient plasma treatment. We synthesize 1 T phases flower-shaped plasma treated iron-doped MoS2 (P-Fe-MoS2), since 1 T-MoS2 has higher electrocatalytic activity and larger electrical conductivity, compared to 2H-MoS2. P-Fe-MoS2 shows 79 % of 1 T phase, resulting in enhanced catalytic performance, such as low overpotential of-122 mV with Tafel slope of 47 mV/dec at-10 mA/cm2 for hydrogen evolution reaction and low overpotential of 206 mV with Tafel slope of 69 mV/dec at the current density of + 10 mA/cm2 for oxygen evolution reaction. This study shows the development of 1 T phase on the synthesized Fe doped 2H-MoS2 by the ambient plasma method, which could be used widely for modifi-cations of other energy materials.

Automated summary

This study develops a flower-shaped plasma-treated iron-doped MoS2 with higher electrocatalytic activity and electrical conductivity. The synthesized material shows enhanced catalytic performance for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The development of 1T phase on the Fe-doped MoS2 could have broad applications in modifying other energy materials.