Magnetron Sputter-Coated Nanoparticle MoS(2) Supported on Nanocarbon: A Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst toward the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

[Image: see text] The design and fabrication of inexpensive highly efficient electrocatalysts for the production of hydrogen via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) underpin a plethora of emerging clean energy technologies. Herein, we report the fabrication of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the HER based on magnetron-sputtered MoS(2) onto a nanocarbon support, termed MoS(2)/C. Magnetron sputtering time is explored as a function of its physiochemical composition and HER performance; increased sputtering times give rise to materials with differing compositions, i.e., Mo(4+) to Mo(6+) and associated S anions (sulfide, elemental, and sulfate), and improved HER outputs. An optimized sputtering time of 45 min was used to fabricate the MoS(2)/C material. This gave rise to an optimal HER performance with regard to its HER onset potential, achievable current, and Tafel value, which were −0.44 (vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE)), −1.45 mV s(–1), and 43 mV dec(–1), respectively, which has the highest composition of Mo(4+) and sulfide (MoS(2)). Electrochemical testing toward the HER via drop casting MoS(2)/C upon screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) to electrically wire the nanomaterial is found to be mass coverage dependent, where the current density increases up to a critical mass (ca. 50 μg cm(–2)), after which a plateau is observed. To allow for a translation of the bespoke fabricated MoS(2)/C from laboratory to new industrial applications, MoS(2)/C was incorporated into the bulk ink utilized in the fabrication of SPEs (denoted as MoS(2)/C-SPE), thus allowing for improved electrical wiring to the MoS(2)/C and resulting in the production of scalable and reproducible electrocatalytic platforms. The MoS(2)/C-SPEs displayed far greater HER catalysis with a 450 mV reduction in the HER onset potential and a 1.70 mA cm(–2) increase in the achievable current density (recorded at −0.75 V (vs SCE)), compared to a bare/unmodified graphitic SPE. The approach of using magnetron sputtering to modify carbon with MoS(2) facilitates the production of mass-producible, stable, and effective electrode materials for possible use in electrolyzers, which are cost competitive to Pt and mitigate the need to use time-consuming and low-yield exfoliation techniques typically used to fabricate pristine MoS(2).