Pt atomic clusters/MoS2 nanosheets/Co-doped hollow carbon nanofibers for high-current–density alkaline hydrogen production

The application of layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) in catalytic hydrogen production has attracted great interest, while their catalytic properties are limited by poor electron conductivity and a few catalytically active sites. In this work, we demonstrated a highly active electrocatalyst for large-scale hydrogen production, consisting of two-dimensional (2D) Pt-MoS 2 nanosheets along one-dimensional (1D) cobalt nanoparticle integrated carbon hollow nanofibers (Co@CHNF). The as-prepared Pt-MoS 2 -Co@CHNF had a large specific surface area (44.5 m 2 g −1 ). X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and spherical aberration corrected transmission electron microscope (AC-STEM) demonstrated that Pt atomic clusters (Pt ACs) were doped on MoS 2 nanosheets by thermodynamically induced spontaneous interfacial redox between MoS 2 and H₂PtCl₆. The Pt-MoS 2 -Co@CHNF based catalysts exhibited an overpotential as low as 91 mV for 10 mA cm −2 and 258 mV for 200 mA cm −2 in 1 M KOH electrolyte, and there is no significant floating for catalytic active with 14 h continuous operation, which demonstrates its excellent long-term operation durability, significantly superior to the previously reported state-of-the-art Co-based or Mo-based catalysts. In particular, the self-supporting binder-free Pt-MoS 2 -Co@CHNF catalyst-based electrode showed an ultra-high current density of 500 mA cm −2 at a low overpotential of 301 mV, without any decrease after 24 h operation at 500 mA cm −2 in 1 M KOH seawater electrolyte, representing a great potential for large-scale seawater hydrogen production.