Highly active hydrogen evolution catalysis from metallic WS2 nanosheets

We report metallic WS2 nanosheets that display excellent catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that is the best reported for MX2 materials. They are chemically exfoliated from WS2 nanostructures synthesized by chemical vapour deposition, including by using a simple and fast microwave-assisted intercalation method. Structural and electrochemical studies confirm that the simultaneous conversion and exfoliation of semiconducting 2H-WS2 into nanosheets of its metallic 1T polymorph result in facile electrode kinetics, excellent electrical transport, and proliferation of catalytically active sites.