Nanoflower-like MoS2 grown on porous TiO2 with enhanced hydrogen evolution activity

Here, we employed a simple strategy to prepare MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting. The characterization results showed that the nanoflower-like MoS2 was successfully grown on porous TiO2 and formed a robust MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure. This special structure increases the surface area of the electrocatalyst and provides abundant channels for charge transfer, resulting in highly efficient catalytic properties of TiO2. The electrochemical measurements show that the MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure exhibits an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity in acidic electrolyte (a potential of ∼108 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 55 mV decade−1) and alkaline electrolyte (a potential of ∼127 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 59 mV decade−1), respectively. The superior HER activity may be due to the rationally designed MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure, which significantly improves the separation and transport of charge carriers during the HER process.