Reactant friendly hydrogen evolution interface based on di-anionic MoS2 surface

Abstract

Engineering the reaction interface to preferentially attract reactants to inner Helmholtz plane is highly desirable for kinetic advancement of most electro-catalysis processes, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This, however, has rarely been achieved due to the inherent complexity for precise surface manipulation down to molecule level. Here, we build a MoS₂ di-anionic surface with controlled molecular substitution of S sites by -OH. We confirm the -OH group endows the interface with reactant dragging functionality, through forming strong non-covalent hydrogen bonding to the reactants (hydronium ions or water). The well-conditioned surface, in conjunction with activated sulfur atoms (by heteroatom metal doping) as active sites, giving rise to up-to-date the lowest over potential and highest intrinsic activity among all the MoS₂ based catalysts. The di-anion surface created in this study, with atomic mixing of active sites and reactant dragging functionalities, represents a effective di-functional interface for boosted kinetic performance.