Enhanced electrocatalysis of WSe 2 nanosheets by partial oxidation for hydrogen generation

Pristine WSe2 based electrocatalyst shows poor reaction kinetics in electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction due to a lack of active atomic sites and an inert basal plane. Herein, we report an active system of non-metallic plasmonic WSe2/WO3−x, supported by highly conductive and eco-friendly Ag/cellulose paper electrodes. An air thermal annealing technique is used to enrich the p-WO3−x dopants in WSe2, which is significant for substantially improving electrocatalytic behaviour as well as photo responsive performance in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The WSe2/WO3−x dramatically decreases the overpotential of HER from −330 to −150 mV (at 10 mA/cm2) owing to homo doping and generation of Se-vacancies. Surface plasmons resonances of p-WO3−x give the contributions to injection of photogenerated electrons and overpotential as low as −120 mV can be achieved under the illumination of NIR light. These results represent significant advances in light-enhanced electrocatalysis and would provide potential applications for commercial hydrogen generation. Novelty Statement Novel WSe2/WO3−X hybrid nanosheets-based electrocatalysts exhibit the light-enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction. WO3−X enriched WSe2 nanosheets exhibit rapid electrochemical charge transport due to p-homodoping and Se-vacancies. Overall, the 3D-porous structure of cellulose paper and 2D- WSe2/WO3−X leads the promising optimisation.