Recent Advances in Layered Tungsten Disulfide as Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting

Electrocatalytic decomposition of water is an effective method to solve the energy and environmental crisis brought about by fossil fuel combustion. Due to its low cost and abundant resources, non-precious metal catalysts have achieved rapid development and are widely used in the electrolysis of water. Among these catalysts, WS2 is known as a potential candidate for water decomposition catalysts because of its unique physical and chemical properties and crystal structure. Therefore, we summarize the application of WS2 in the field of electrolysis water splitting. First, the crystal structure, the principle of HER/OER, and the performance evaluation parameters are introduced. Then it focuses on the preparation and structure control of WS2, the method, and the mechanism of performance optimization. Finally, the research on theoretical calculations of WS2 and a discussion about the opportunities and challenges of WS2 as electrocatalyst in the future are summarized. To improve the readability of this review, a concise overview at the end of each section gives some of the characteristics and trends of the studies in the corresponding part.