Molybdenum disulfide composite materials with encapsulated copper nanoparticles as hydrogen evolution catalysts

In the current work, a series of molybdenum disulfide composite MCNTs@Cu@MoS(2) materials with high hydrogen evolution performance are prepared. In the hydrogen evolution reaction, their overpotential is as low as 225 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm(−2) in 1 M H(2)SO(4) as electrolyte solution. This excellent catalytic activity has been ascribed to its lower electrical impedance and high double layer capacitance. The encapsulation of copper nanoparticles into MoS(2) crystals significantly reduces their resistance, enhancing the electron transfer rate during water electrolysis. Thereby, the introduction of conductive nanoparticles into semi-conductive catalyst crystals would be an efficient measure to improve their electrochemical catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction.