The Advanced Progress of MoS2 and WS2 for Multi-Catalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Systems

Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are considered as the next generation of hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts due to their adjustable band gap, near-zero Gibbs free energy, and lower cost compared to noble metal catalysts. However, the electrochemical catalytic hydrogen evolution performance of TMDs with two-dimensional properties is limited by innate sparse catalytic active sites, poor electrical conductivity, and weak electrical contact with the substrate. It remains challenging for the intrinsic activity of TMDs for electrocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) to compete with the noble metal platinum. In recent years, significant development of transition metal chalcogenides, especially MoS2 and WS2, as catalysts for electrocatalytic and photocatalytic HERs has proceeded drastically. It is indispensable to summarize the research progress in this area. This review summarizes recent research results of electrocatalysts and photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions based on two-dimensional materials, mainly including MoS2, WS2, and their compounds. The challenges and future development directions of two-dimensional hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts and photocatalysts are summarized and prospected as well.