Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production of MoS2 sheet/carbon nanofiber using rapid electron transport of Mo6+ and carbon nanofiber

Abstract

Normal MoS₂ exhibits a low photocatalytic performance for H₂ production owing to the deficiency of the active sites and the poor electrical conductance. In this work, MoS₂ anchored on the surface of the carbon nanofibers was designed to enhance the activity of the exposed edge and the electrical conductivity at the same time. The oxidation of the surface Mo atoms increases the activity of the exposed edge of the MoS₂. The introduction of carbon nanofibers facilitates the effective transportation of the electron–hole pairs by enhancing the electrical conductivity. As a result, the introduction of carbon nanofibers and Mo⁶⁺ can facilitate the electron–hole pair separation to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance (to eight fold more than normal MoS₂).