Effect of Ni doping on electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of MoS2

Abstract

Pure MoS2 and Ni doped MoS2 were prepared by mean of hydrothermal method. The microstructure, surface morphology and chemical composition were investigated by X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectroscopy, FE-SEM and XPS. The diffraction peak corresponding to (002) lattice plane shifts to smaller angle when Ni atoms incorporate into MoS2 crystal lattice. Few layer MoS2 nanosheets with perpendicularly oriented structure appeared when MoS2 were doped with moderate Ni. The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction of the pure MoS2 and Ni-MoS2 was investigated by LSV and EIS. The results indicated that the Ni-1.0-MoS2 exhibits the best HER activities. The overpotentials at 10mA cm-2 and the charge transfer resistance (Rct) were 164 mV (vs. RHE) and 89 Ω, respectively. The Ni-1.0-MoS2 electrocatalysts also exhibited good stability, which was significantly for potential applications in the field of electrocatalysis.