Electroplated synthesis of semi-rigid MoS2–rGO–Cu as efficient self-supporting electrode for hydrogen evolution reaction

The self-supporting catalytic electrode is useful in the industry, since it can reduce the complex pre-treatment of catalytic materials and avoid the use of binders. In this work, a ternary self-supporting electrode including Cu mesh-supported graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) was prepared by electroplating zinc and hydrothermal reaction . Due to the excellent conductivity of copper and the hydrogen evolution catalytic ability of MoS 2 , this self-supporting electrode showed a low Tafel slope as 54 mV dec −1 and a current density of 400 mA cm −2 at an overpotential of -300 mV in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In addition, due to the metal flexibility of the Cu mesh substrate, the MoS 2 –rGO Cu ternary self-supporting electrode can be bent or cut into any desired shape. Even shaped as an elongated one, curved "S", this self-supporting electrode still kept itself from any deformation when hydrogen bubbles were rapidly generated. Therefore, a strategy for green, simple, and low-cost self-supporting electrode was provided, which may increase the large-scale operation of the catalytic electrode in HER.