Graphene confined MoS2 particles for accelerated electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract MoS 2 is a promising noble-metal-free electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Extensive trials have been carried out to increase its low electrical conductivity and insufficient active sites. Here, a remarkable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution is developed based on the in-situ preparation of MoS 2 confined in graphene nanosheets. Graphene effectively controls the growth of MoS 2 and immensely increases the conductivity and structural stability of the composite materials. Remarkably, because of the plentiful active sites, sufficient electrical contact and transport, MoS 2 particles confined in graphene nanosheets exhibit an onset overpotential as small as 32 mV, an overpotential approaching 132 mV at 10 mA cm −2 , and a low Tafel slope of 45 mV dec −1 . This work presents a reasonable architecture for practical applications in efficient electrocatalytic H 2 generation.