Atomic-scale intercalation of amorphous MoS₂ nanoparticles into N-doped carbon as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) properties of the catalysts are significantly dependent on their microscopic structure. Interfacial engineering at the atomic level is the main approach to design high performance of electrocatalysts. Herein, an interfacial modulation strategy is proposed to fabricate monolayer amorphous MoS₂ nanoparticles with an average of 3.5 nm in diameter stuck in multilayer N-doped carbon (MoS₂/NC), boosting a high HER activity. The amorphous MoS₂ could provide more edge active sites and NC layers endow the fast electron transfer. The XPS, Raman spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the C–S bond in MoS₂/NC provides the fast electron transfer and decreases H binding energy. Benefiting the unique sandwiched structure, the MoS₂/NC boosts a low overpotential of 152.6 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², a small Tafel slope of 60.3 mV dec⁻¹, and outstanding long-term stability with 97.3% retention for over 24 h. This strategy provides a new opportunity and development of interfacial engineering for turning intrinsic catalytic activity for water splitting.