Solid-state synthesis of MoS2 nanorod from molybdenum-organic framework for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

MoS2 is a promising candidate for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its low cost and high activity. However, the poor conductivity and the stack of active sites of bulk MoS2 hinder its application. Herein, a new facile solid-state synthesis strategy was developed to fabricate MoS2 nanorods by one-step pyrolysis of molybdenum-organic framework (Mo-MOF) in the presence of thiourea. The obtained MoS2 keeps the Mo-MOF nanorod structure with more active sites, while the residual carbon left in the nanorod enhances the conductivity. The as-prepared MoS2 nanorods exhibit superior stability and excellent activity towards HER with a small onset potential of 96 mV and a low Tafel slope of 93 mV decade−1.