Certain transition metal ions, particularly Fe, Co and Ni, can significantly improve the catalytic activity of molybdenum sulfide hydrogen evolution catalysts, claim scientists in Switzerland.
Sunlight-driven water splitting is an attractive method for solar energy conversion and storage. Achieving efficient water splitting requires active hydrogen evolution catalysts. Recently, molybdenum sulfide materials have emerged as a class of promising hydrogen evolution catalysts because of their high abundance, low cost and high activity. Xile Hu, at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, and colleagues, incorporated metal ions into amorphous molybdenum sulfide and demonstrated up to a 12-fold increase in exchange current density and a 10-fold increase in the current density at a given overpotential at pH = 7.
Link to journal article
Fe, Co, and Ni Ions Promote the Catalytic Activity of Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide Films for Hydrogen Evolution
Daniel Merki, heron vrubel, lorenzo rovelli, Stephan Fierro and Xile Hu
Chem. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2sc20539d
