In-situ growth of high-content 1T phase MoS2 confined in the CuS nanoframe for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Published in: Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Vol. 269; p. 118773
• Main Authors: Xin, Xu, Song, Yaru, Guo, Shaohui, Zhang, Youzi, Wang, Bilin, Yu, Jiakang, Li, Xuanhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.07.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: 1T MoS2; Catalytic activity; Confined growth; Copper; Copper sulfides; Electronics industry; Hydrogen; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen production; Metal-organic frameworks; Metal–organic framework; Molybdenum disulfide; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Photocatalysis; Photocatalytic reaction; Stability; Synthesis; Water splitting; Metal–organic framework; Stability; Photocatalytic reaction; Confined growth; 1T MoS2
• ISSN: 0926-3373; 1873-3883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.118773

A one-step confined template method is proposed to synthesize high-quality 1 T MoS2 in the CuS nanoframe (CuS–MoS2–1 T). The obtained nanomaterial exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity with the hydrogen production rate of approximately 9648.7 μmol g−1 h−1. This study proposes a new strategy for high- quality 1 T MoS2 preparation. [Display omitted] •Confined template is proposed as a new strategy for high-quality 1 T MoS2 design.•Large scale ∼70 % 1 T MoS2 confined in the CuS nanoframe has been synthesized.•The nanohybrid achieves high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution 9648.7 μmol g−1 h−1.•This method can be extended to other confined templates for metastable material. The large-scale synthesis of the metallic phase MoS2 (1 T MoS2) is important for enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, it’s difficult to obtain a high-quality of 1 T MoS2, especially when integrated with other semiconductors for hetero nanomaterials. Herein, a one-step confined template method is proposed to obtain high-quality 1 T MoS2 in the CuS nanoframe (CuS–MoS2–1 T). During the synthesis, a unique porous Cu–Mo-based metal–organic framework (MOF), i.e., NENU-5 template has been adopted and in situ sulfurized, where 1 T MoS2 and CuS have been simultaneously obtained. Interestingly, we find that the confined pores of the CuS nanoframe inhibits the bulk growth of MoS2 to produce high-stability and large-scale 1 T MoS2 (a high concentration of ∼70 %). The obtained nanomaterial exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity with the hydrogen production rate of approximately 9648.7 μmol g−1 h−1, which is much higher than other various newly developed photocatalysts reported early. This study develops a new strategy via MOF confined template for high-quality 1 T MoS2 production and achieves outstanding performance in the photocatalytic water splitting. This approach may also shed light on other similar confined templates for the praparation of high-quality metastable nanomaterials.