Dual surfactants applied in synthesis of MoSe2 for high-efficiency hydrogen evolution reaction

Highlights: • Dual surfactants were used during the hydrothermal process of MoSe₂, and the HER performance was evaluated in detail. • The as-prepared electrocatalyst exhibits an efficient HER performance of an overpotential of 189 mV at 10 mA cm^-2. • The synergy of dual surfactants significantly improves the HER performance of MoSe₂. -- Abstract: Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) has been considered as a promising electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), having great significance in the exploration of catalysts for green energy production. To obtain excellent electrocatalytic properties of MoSe₂, the structural design of materials has become a commonly-used strategy. Hence, the combination of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and polyethylene-polypropylene glycol (F68) was employed during hydrothermal process to modify the structure of MoSe₂. Compared with using only one surfactant (CTAB or F68), MoSe₂ catalyst represents better surface activity, more active sites and enhanced catalytic activity in the presence of dual surfactants. The as-prepared MoSe₂-CTAB@F68 catalyst achieves an excellent HER activity with an overpotential of 189 mV versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and a low Tafel slope of 62 mV dec⁻¹. Therefore, this work paves a way to prepare electrocatalysts with dual surfactants existence, which is greatly attractive for an optimizing electrocatalyst performance in a more efficient way.