A review on the cooperative effect of intimate interfacial TMD/MXene (2D/2D) heterostructures for an enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The future energy system strongly depends on hydrogen (H₂) energy as a viable choice owing to its high energy density and environmentally benign nature. Electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising method to produce H₂, and hence, research on developing economical and efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen generation has increased. Over the past few decades, two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as effective hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts due to their tunable electronic properties and large surface area. Recently, 2D MXene-based electrocatalysts have attracted much attention due to their distinct properties, such as high conductivity and stability. The construction of 2D/2D heterostructures using TMDs and MXenes can further boost the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by increasing the electrochemically active surface area, thereby inducing accelerated reaction kinetics and stability. The present review initially summarizes the important performance parameters for HER processes, followed by an extensive review of the current approaches to enhance the catalytic efficiency of TMD/MXene (2D/2D) heterostructures. In summary, this review provides insights into the synthesis of 2D/2D heterostructures, their electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, and the underlying mechanisms responsible for their enhanced catalytic performance. Finally, it highlights the remaining challenges and potential paths for developing TMD/MXene electrocatalysts.