Hydrothermally synthesized MoS2(1-x)Se2x ternary alloys on carbon cloth with tunable sulfur source for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Semiconducting 2H-phase MoS 2 often performs poorly in the hydrogen evolution process and has low conductivity. Se increases stability, electrical conductivity, and catalytic activity when added to MoS 2 . Using carbon cloth as the substrate and several sulfur sources, such as Thioacetamide, L-cysteine, and Thiourea, this study developed an effective hydrothermal synthesis process to produce a MoS 2(1-x) Se 2x ternary alloy. When used as an electrocatalyst for HER, the TAA-MoSSe/CC alloy with an S/Se balance of 1:1 reaches at overpotential of 120 mV at the conventional current density of about 10 mA/cm 2 , whereas the observed Tafel slope value is 41 mV/dec. Furthermore, the strength of the Ternary alloys covered by the present investigation is enhanced by testing for air stability and durability. According to the characteristics of these ternary alloys, the creation of MoS 2(1-x) Se 2x depends critically on the temperature at which the sulfur precursor decomposes. Improved HER catalytic performance results from the rapid release of sulfur ions from sulfur precursors, which decompose at lower temperatures. These sulfur ions replace more Se ions in MoS 2(1-x) Se 2x .