Cobalt incorporated MoS2 hollow structure with rich out-of-plane edges for efficient hydrogen production

Highlights: • Distinctive MoS₂-Co nanoboxes were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. • The MoS₂-Co nanoboxes possess the size-controlled hollow structure. • The nanostructure exhibits favorable HER activity in acid and alkaline media. • Nanostructured MoS₂ exposes rich out-of-plane edges monitored by Raman spectroscopy. • This work can be adopted for synthesis and characterization of analogical materials. Recently, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have received intensive research interest as an important family of functional materials. In particular, MOFs were widely used in electroanalysis and water splitting for their electrical conductivity and rich redox electrochemical activities. Prussian blue analogue (PBA), which owns hollow nanostructured MOFs with large surface area and unique structural features, offers great advantages for constructing advanced electrodes. Meanwhile, compared with platinum-based catalysts, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is increasingly becoming a research focus as an affordable alternative obtaining electrochemical hydrogen production from water. Here we synthesized the nanomaterials, MoS₂-Co nanoboxes, using the facile hydrothermal method between cobalt Prussian blue analogue (Co PBA) nanocubes and ammonium thiomolybdate ((NH₄)₂MoS₄). In acid and alkaline media, the MoS₂-Co nanoboxes exhibit favorable catalytic performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Furthermore, for researching the relationship of structural changes of MoS₂ supported on Co PBA nanocubes and HER catalytic performance, we use the Raman spectroscopy to monitor nanostructured MoS₂ which can promote the exposure of the most active sites. This new method applied in this study can be widely adopted for characterization of transition metal dichalcogenides with various compositions for a wide range of applications.