Facile Synthesis of In-Situ Nitrogenated Graphene Decorated by Few-Layer MoS2 for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

A facile one-step synthetic strategy by combinating chemical and hydrothermal reduction of graphene oxide and Mo precursor is proposed to fabricate in-situ nitrogenated graphene-few layer MoS2 composite (MoS2/N-rGO-HA) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The N-doping graphene nanosheets and highly dispersed MoS2 nanosheets by ammonia and hydrozine as co-reductant have greatly promoted the N content, concentrations of pyridinic and graphitic N, the electron transport in electrodes, and assure high catalytic efficiency. The MoS2/N-rGO-HA composite exhibits extremely high activity in acidic solutions with a small onset potential of 100 mV and Tafel slope of 45 mV/dec, as well as a current density about 32.4 mA cm(-2) at overpotential about 0.2 V. Moreover, such MoS2/N-rGO-HA electroncatalyst also shows an excellent stability during 1000 cycles with negligible loss of the cathodic current. This facile hydrothermal method could provide a promising strategy for the synthesis of in-situ nitrogen-doping graphene sheets and few-layer MoS2 composites in large scale towards promising alternative catalyst for platinum-based HER electrocatalysts. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.