A comprehensive study on atomic layer deposition of molybdenum sulfide for electrochemical hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has emerged as an efficient method to design and prepare catalysts with atomic precision. Here, we report a comprehensive study on ALD of molybdenum sulfide (MoS_x) for an electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. By using molybdenum hexacarbonyl and dimethyldisulfide as the precursors of Mo and S, respectively, the MoS_x catalysts are grown at 100 °C on porous carbon fiber papers (CFPs). The ALD process results in the growth of particle-like MoS_x on the CFP due to the lack of adsorption sites, and its crystallographic structure is a mixture of amorphous and nano-crystalline phases. In order to unveil the intrinsic activity of the ALD-MoS_x, the exchange current densities, Tafel slopes, and turnover frequencies of the catalysts grown under various ALD conditions have been investigated by considering the fractional surface coverage of MoS_x on the CFP and catalytically-active surface area. In addition, the ALD-MoS_x/CFP catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic stability due to the strong adhesion of MoS_x on the CFP and the mixed phase.