Effects of 60Co γ-ray irradiation of thin-layer molybdenum disulfide for the hydrogen evolution reaction. (11th April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dong, Lei; Yang, Jianqun; Yue, Xiaoqing; Geng, Huimin; Li, Weiqi; Zhang, Yubao; Li, Xingji
• Is Part Of: New journal of chemistry. Volume 47:Number 17(2023)
• Page Start: 8214
• Page End: 8222
• Publication Date: 2023-04-11
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; Chimie -- Périodiques; 540
• DOI: 10.1039/d3nj00137g
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1144-0546

Abstract

Abstract : A γ-ray irradiation method is expected to achieve the development of efficient, inexpensive, mass-produced, and chemically stable MoS2 catalysts. Abstract : Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) with its low cost, excellent electrochemical stability and large specific surface area is expected to replace noble metals such as platinum as a new type of high-efficiency electrocatalyst. Since it is very difficult to effectively improve the catalytic performance only from intrinsic materials, we used the 60 Co γ-ray as the irradiation source to modify thin layer MoS2 nanosheets (MoS2 NSs), and explore the irradiation effect and the mechanism of catalytic performance improvement. The structure–activity relationship was investigated in depth by characterizing the morphology and structure of MoS2 NSs before and after γ-ray irradiation, combined with the changes in HER performance. The results show that the irradiation-induced defects are dominated by sulfur (S) vacancies, which can efficiently regulate the intrinsic electronic structure of MoS2 NSs. The introduction of defects increases the number of active sites on the surface of nanosheets and improves the reaction kinetics, optimizing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. When the irradiation dose is too large, we reveal that the oxygen atoms passivate the S vacancies in the MoS2 NSs and cause the concentration of S vacancies to decrease, resulting in the reduction of electrocatalytic performance. It is concluded that the appropriate irradiation dose is the key factor to improve the HER performance of MoS2 NSs.