Enhancing the catalytic OER performance of MoS2 via Fe and Co doping

Enhancing the sluggish kinetics of the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for many clean-energy production technologies. Although much progress has been made in recent years, developing active, stable, and cost-effective OER electrocatalysts is still challenging. The layered MoS2, based on Earth-abundant elements, is widely explored as a promising hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst but exhibits poor OER activity. Here, we report a facile strategy to improve the sluggish OER of MoS2 through co-doping MoS2 nanosheets with Fe and Co atoms. The synergistic effect obtained by adjusting the Co/Fe ratio in the Fe-Co doped MoS2 induces electronic and structural modifications and a richer active surface area morphology resulting in a relatively low OER overpotential of 380 mV (at 10 mA cm-2). The electronic modulation upon doping was further supported by DFT calculations that show favorable interaction with the OER intermediate species, thus reducing the energy barrier for the OER. This work paves the way for future strategies for tailoring the electronic properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) to activate the structure for the sluggish OER with the assistance of non-noble-metal materials.