Molybdenum disulfide composite materials with encapsulated copper nanoparticles as hydrogen evolution catalysts.

In the current work, a series of molybdenum disulfide composite MCNTs@Cu@MoS 2 materials with high hydrogen evolution performance are prepared. In the hydrogen evolution reaction, their overpotential is as low as 225 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm -2 in 1 M H 2 SO 4 as electrolyte solution. This excellent catalytic activity has been ascribed to its lower electrical impedance and high double layer capacitance. The encapsulation of copper nanoparticles into MoS 2 crystals significantly reduces their resistance, enhancing the electron transfer rate during water electrolysis. Thereby, the introduction of conductive nanoparticles into semi-conductive catalyst crystals would be an efficient measure to improve their electrochemical catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction.