A feasible and environmentally friendly method to simultaneously synthesize MoS2 quantum dots and pore-rich monolayer MoS2 for hydrogen evolution reaction

MoS 2 has been one of a widely researched hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst materials in recent years. However, the basal plane of MoS 2 is considered to be inactive to hinder its further development. Herein, a new mass-scalable and facile intercalation method for the fabrication of multiple products, including pore-rich monolayer MoS 2 (PR MoS 2 ) and MoS 2 quantum dots (MoS 2 QDs), has been developed via the gas phase etching of bulk MoS 2 in an acetone vapor atmosphere. The obtained monolayer MoS 2 QDs with a narrow lateral size distribution (average size: 2.5 nm) present excitation-independent photoluminescence emission. Furthermore, the PR MoS 2 shows a significantly enhanced HER electrocatalytic activity and good stability in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution with a small overpotential of 241 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . These results demonstrate that the as-prepared PR MoS 2 is very promising for the application in HER.