Solid-state synthesis of MoS 2 nanorod from molybdenum-organic framework for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

MoS 2 is a promising candidate for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its low cost and high activity. However, the poor conductivity and the stack of active sites of bulk MoS 2 hinder its application. Herein, a new facile solid-state synthesis strategy was developed to fabricate MoS 2 nanorods by one-step pyrolysis of molybdenum-organic framework (Mo-MOF) in the presence of thiourea. The obtained MoS 2 keeps the Mo-MOF nanorod structure with more active sites, while the residual carbon left in the nanorod enhances the conductivity. The as-prepared MoS 2 nanorods exhibit superior stability and excellent activity towards HER with a small onset potential of 96 mV and a low Tafel slope of 93 mV decade −1 .