Cobalt-doped MoS2 enhances the evolution of hydrogen by piezo-electric catalysis under the 850 nm near-infrared light irradiation

Hydrogen is a clean shuttle of energy storage that can naturally reserve solar and wind energy. However, the lack of safe and efficient storage for hydrogen in a tank for use in automobiles limits its widespread use. Therefore, developing an on-board storage and controlling the release of hydrogen are important for the practical application of hydrogen fuels. This article reports a cobalt-doped MoS2 catalyst that enhances the safe release of hydrogen from aqueous ammonia borane by piezo-photocatalysis. The results indicate that the H2 yield of cobalt-doped MoS2 was 4.84 times that of pristine MoS2 under an ultrasonic and the 850 nm near-infrared irradiation conditions. The piezo-current of the cobalt-doped MoS2 was observed for the first time by an electrochemical technique. A reaction mechanism is proposed for hydrogen evolution based on an enhanced built-in field in cobalt-doped MoS2 lattices under piezo-electric conditions.