MoS2 nanosheet decorated with trace loads of Pt as highly active electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Robust and stable electrocatalyst with high activity is highly desirable for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, we report on MoS2 nanosheets prepared by hydrothermal method followed by deposition of trace loads of Pt nanoparticles as electrocatalyst for HER, exhibiting excellent electrochemical activity with an onset potential of 0 mV, a Tafel slope of 49 mV dec−1, an exchange current density of 0.75 mA cm−2, and a good durability. The composite can be efficiently synthesized by deposition of trace loads of Pt on MoS2 nanosheets using a facile electrochemical method, during which carbon cloth (CC) was used as a conductive substrate. Compared to the commercial Pt/C catalysts (20 wt% Pt on Vulcan carbon black), the prepared Pt/MoS2/CC catalyst with very low Pt loading (1.26 wt%) exhibits a comparable HER activity.