2D WS2 nanosheet supported Pt nanoparticles for enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract By taking advantage of large specific surface area and large number of reaction sites of the 2D WS 2 nanosheet (NS), we developed a simple adsorption-photoreduction method to load Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on the NS carrier. The WS 2 NSs were soaked in KPtCl 4 solution for sufficient amount of time to ensure the adsorption equilibrium of the Pt ions on the WS 2 NS substrate. Upon photolysis and H 2 post-treatment, uniformly dispersed Pt 0 NPs (∼2 nm in size) were harvested. The hybrid structure containing 0D Pt 0 NPs and 2D WS 2 thin-layers showed distinctly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with the overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 reduced to 80 mV compared with commercial Pt/C electrode. The synergetic effect of 0D and 2D structures may encourage designing new catalysts systems for special application.