Interface confined hydrogen evolution reaction in zero valent metal nanoparticles-intercalated molybdenum disulfide.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28230105.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms14548 and PMC identifier 5331331.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Interface confined reactions, which can modulate the bonding of reactants with catalytic centres and influence the rate of the mass transport from bulk solution, have emerged as a viable strategy for achieving highly stable and selective catalysis. Here we demonstrate that 1T'-enriched lithiated molybdenum disulfide is a highly powerful reducing agent, which can be exploited for the in-situ reduction of metal ions within the inner planes of lithiated molybdenum disulfide to form a zero valent metal-intercalated molybdenum disulfide. The confinement of platinum nanoparticles within the molybdenum disulfide layered structure leads to enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction activity and stability compared to catalysts dispersed on carbon support. In particular, the inner platinum surface is accessible to charged species like proton and metal ions, while blocking poisoning by larger sized pollutants or neutral molecules. This points a way forward for using bulk intercalated compounds for energy related applications.