Ultrathin VS2 nanodiscs for highly stable electro catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) metal chalcogenides are gaining considerable attention for its potential employment in energy storage, catalysis, electronic, and sensing devices. Vanadium disulfide (VS2) from the 2D family gathers intensive attention for its application as promising electrocatalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we present a simple, cost-effective hydrothermal technique for the synthesis of nanodiscs (NDs)-like VS2 structures. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and evaluated as electrochemical catalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). NDs-like structures made up of thin nanoplates with active sites were found to play a huge role on their electrochemical properties. The prepared VS2 NDs show highly efficient electro catalytic performances with a Tafel slope of 79 mV dec(-1). In addition, the prepared VS2 NDs exhibited high stability in acidic solution without any sign for degradation even after 500 continuous potential cycles. The excellent HER performance and long-term durability suggest the VS2 NDs to serve as an promising and inexpensive HER electro catalyst.