Scalable Production of Few-Layer Niobium Disulfide Nanosheets via Electrochemical Exfoliation for Energy-Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

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Si, Jincheng
Zheng, Qiang
Chen, Hanlin
Lei, Chaojun
Suo, Yange
Yang, Bin
Zhang, Zhiguo
Li, Zhongjian
Lei, Lecheng
Hou, Yang
Ostrikov, Kostya Ken
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2019
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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) niobium disulfide (NbS2) materials feature unique physical and chemical properties leading to highly promising energy conversion applications. Herein, we developed a robust synthesis technique consisting of electrochemical exfoliation under alternating currents and subsequent liquid-phase exfoliation to prepare highly uniform few-layer NbS2 nanosheets. The obtained few-layer NbS2 material has a 2D nanosheet structure with an ultrathin thickness of ∼3 nm and a lateral size of ∼2 μm. Benefiting from their unique 2D structure and highly exposed active sites, the few-layer NbS2 nanosheets drop-casted on carbon paper exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acid with an overpotential of 90 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 and a low Tafel slope of 83 mV dec–1, which are superior to those reported for other NbS2-based HER electrocatalysts. Furthermore, few-layer NbS2 nanosheets are effective as bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen production by overall water splitting, where the urea and hydrazine oxidation reactions replace the oxygen evolution reaction.

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ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES

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11

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14

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Chemical sciences

Engineering

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