Ambient plasma treated iron-doped flower-shaped molybdenum disulfide for efficient electrocatalyst

Developing a nonprecious, bifunctional, and efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting is crucial for future renewable fuel systems, yet it remains a significant challenge. In this study, we tackle the challenge by activating molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) through iron doping and ambient plasma treatment. We synthesize 1 T phases flower-shaped plasma treated iron-doped MoS2 (P-Fe-MoS2), since 1 T-MoS2 has higher electrocatalytic activity and larger electrical conductivity, compared to 2H-MoS2. P-Fe-MoS2 shows 79 % of 1 T phase, resulting in enhanced catalytic performance, such as low overpotential of −122 mV with Tafel slope of 47 mV/dec at −10 mA/cm2 for hydrogen evolution reaction and low overpotential of 206 mV with Tafel slope of 69 mV/dec at the current density of + 10 mA/cm2 for oxygen evolution reaction. This study shows the development of 1 T phase on the synthesized Fe doped 2H-MoS2 by the ambient plasma method, which could be used widely for modifications of other energy materials.