Mott–Schottky heterostructure induce the interfacial electron redistribution of MoS2 for boosting pH-universal hydrogen evolution with Pt-like activity

MoS2 have been regarded as promising catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, its poor catalytic performance in neutral and alkaline solution would be problematic for the practical application. Combining semiconductors with metals as Mott-Schottky heterojunctions (MSH) has been regarded as an effective way to improve catalytic activity. Herein, a pH-universal adaptability Mo-MoS2 MSH has been constructed via an in-situ lithiation method. The constructed MSH structure can effectively optimize the sulfur sites’ electronic structure with interfacial electron redistribution and enhance the proton adsorption property under all pH conditions. To achieve the current density of 10 mA cm−2, it only needs overpotentials of 91, 138 and 128 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4, 1.0 M KOH and 1.0 M PBS, respectively, which has been one of the best values of current noble-metal-free electrocatalyst. This work can pave a valuable approach for the design high activity HER electrocatalysts for pH-universal with Pt-like activity.