Efficient Electrocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation Using MoS2 and Related Compounds

Producing hydrogen fuel through environmentally friendly electrochemical and solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a very promising approach for providing affordable clean energy. The scalable and sustainable production of hydrogen demands efficient and robust earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) beyond platinum and other precious-metal catalysts. This review provides an overview of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and related compounds as inexpensive alternative electrocatalysts for HER catalysis and PEC water splitting. After a background introduction, we discuss the important approaches to improving the intrinsic catalytic activity and overall catalytic performance of MoS2. We further review the key developments in combining MoS2 with semiconductors for integrated PEC systems for direct solar-to-fuel conversion and provide insights on how to design efficient solar-driven water-splitting systems. Our perspectives on the key challenges and future directions for development of earth-abundant HER electrocatalysts and PEC water splitting are also discussed.