1 research outputs found
Polymer-Brush-Templated Three-Dimensional Molybdenum Sulfide Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution
Earth-abundant hydrogen
evolution catalysts are essential for high-efficiency solar-driven
water splitting. Although a significant amount of studies have been
dedicated to the development of new catalytic materials, the microscopic
assembly of these materials has not been widely investigated. Here,
we describe an approach to control the three-dimensional (3D) assembly
of amorphous molybdenum sulfide using polymer brushes as a template.
To this end, polyÂ(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) brushes were grown
from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. These cationic polymer films
bind anionic MoS<sub>4</sub><sup>2–</sup> through an anion-exchange
reaction. In a final oxidation step, the polymer-bound MoS<sub>4</sub><sup>2–</sup> is converted into the amorphous MoS<sub><i>x</i></sub> catalyst. The flexibility of the assembly design
allowed systematic optimization of the 3D catalyst. The best system
exhibited turnover frequencies up to 1.3 and 4.9 s<sup>–1</sup> at overpotentials of 200 and 250 mV, respectively. This turnover
frequency stands out among various molybdenum sulfide catalysts. The
work demonstrates a novel strategy to control the assembly of hydrogen
evolution reaction catalysts