Basal-Plane Pores Activate Monolayer MoS<sub>2</sub> for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Identification of catalytically relevant sites in solid-state materials and our ability to manipulate such sites is critical to designing improved electrocatalysts. In this work, we prepare a series of monolayer MoS2 using chemical vapor deposition and install varied concentrations of defects through swift heavy ion irradiation. Electron micrographs indicate that the ion irradiation procedure generates pores within MoS2 flakes, and Raman microscopic maps show that the defects exert a strongly localized influence. The localization is strong enough that spectra acquired across individual particles can be classified in a binary fashion: regions are either affected by the irradiation-induced pore or appear as pristine MoS2. Besides providing insight into the nature of the defects within the monolayers, this feature enables spatial resolution of regions with significant densities of such pores. This capability is used to quantify the defect density across the sample series and show that the pores located within the MoS2 flakes are particularly active sites for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
Authors
- Jani Kotakoski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1301-5266)
- Rodney D. L. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1209-9653)
- Yossarian Liebsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7943-2089)
- Marika Schleberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8539-8171)
- Umair Javed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7416-3783)
- Holly M. Fruehwald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4822-4359)
- H. Lebius (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4347-3073)
- C. Grygiel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-1016)
- Radia Rahali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3336-8736)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Normandie Université (FR)
- Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Matériaux et la Photonique (FR)
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (FR)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
- Université de Caen Normandie (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Catalysis
- Published
- 2025-02-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c07970
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- 2D Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.21
Funders
- Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Austrian Science Fund
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada