Intercalation of coordination polymer to regulate interlayer of 2D layered MoS2 for hydrogen evolution reaction

Activity and stability are the kernels of MoS2-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Here an intercalation-exfoliation nanocomposite (N–MoS2/AOCF) was designed and successfully synthesized through a facile polymer-solution intercalation method, and the molecular chains of amidoximated polyacrylonitrile (AOCF) with coordinating ability was intercalated into the preintercalated molybdenum disulfide (N–MoS2) nanosheets. The structure characterization demonstrated that N–MoS2 dispersed randomly with a small size and curly lamellar structure. Besides, the interlayer spacing enlarged significantly in the AOCF matrix. Furthermore, N–MoS2 nanosheets are tightly combined with AOCF via the coordination bonds between –OH and –NH2 of AOCF; therefore, the diverse active sites and good stability of N–MoS2/AOCF were attributable to the intense bonding effect, inducing desirable HER performance in acidic medium. Notably, the obtained electrocatalyst exhibited a low overpotential (176 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2), a small Tafel slope (51.08 mV/dec), and a large electric double-layer capacitance (39.98 mF/cm2).