Liquid-exfoliated molybdenum telluride nanosheets with superior electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performances

Molybdenum Telluride (MoTe 2 ) is widely used in the field of optoelectronics because of its excellent electron mobility and good environmental stability. Recent advances have shown that the reduction in the thickness of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials allows for greater surface area and more active sites to enhance electrocatalytic performance. Here, we prepared MoTe 2 nanosheets by liquid exfoliation. Characterization of the morphology and lattice structure of MoTe 2 nanosheets by a series of characterization methods. A three-electrode electrochemical system test results demonstrated that the MoTe 2 nanosheets have excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability in H 2 SO 4 solution compared to bulk MoTe 2. In addition, the MoTe 2 nanosheets also exhibited optimal electrocatalytic properties for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with −309 mV overpotential at a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 and a low Tafel slope of 118.9 mV/dec in a 0.5 mol/L (M) H 2 SO 4 solution. Our work demonstrates that MoTe 2 nanosheets have good prospects for use in electrocatalytic devices as high-performance electrocatalysts .