Layered Nanocomposites of Polymer-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide and Borocarbonitride with MoS2 and MoSe2 and Their Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Activity

• Published in: ACS applied nano materials Vol. 3; no. 2; pp. 1792 - 1799
• Main Authors: Pramoda, K, Servottam, Swaraj, Kaur, Manjodh, Rao, C. N. R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 28.02.2020
• Subjects: borocarbonitrides; MoS2; nanocomposites; 2D materials; hydrogen evolution reaction
• ISSN: 2574-0970; 2574-0970
• DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.9b02482

Nanocomposites formed by poly­(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA, shown as P)-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and borocarbonitride (BC6N, shown as BCN for simplicity) sheets with layers of negatively charged MoS2 and MoSe2 have been synthesized by a solution process. The nanocomposites exhibit superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity compared to the individual components, with the value increasing with the MoS2/MoSe2 content. The highest photocatalytic HER activity obtained is 11230 μmol h–1 g–1 in the nanocomposite P.RGO-MoS2, with a P.RGO-MoS2 ratio of 1:5. The P.RGO-MoSe2 (1:5) and P.BCN-MoS2 (1:5) nanocomposites exhibit somewhat lower activities of 9540 and 8593 μmol h–1 g–1, respectively. Prompted by literature reports that carbon-rich BCNs are efficient HER electrocatalysts, we have examined the electrocatalytic HER activity of P.BCN-MoS2 (1:1, 1:5, and 1:7) nanocomposites. The electrocatalytic HER activity of P.BCN-MoS2 (1:5) is found to be extraordinary, with an onset potential of −50 mV (vs RHE), comparable to that of platinum.