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MoSe2 as one graphene-like 2D transition metal selenide has attracted great attention. However, its application for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is still restricted by the poor electrical conductivity and structural restacking. In this work, an excellent electrocatalyst for hydrogen production is developed based on the in situ synthesis of V-doped MoSe2 confined on carbon black nanoparticles (denoted as V-MoSe2/CB) via a sol–gel process. The characterization results show that the carbon black nanoparticles can protect the V-MoSe2 nanosheets from agglomeration, resulting in ultra-thin thickness and short vertical lattice arrays. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that vanadium doping can optimize the electronic structure of MoSe2. Accordingly, compared to the pure MoSe2, V-MoSe2 and MoSe2/CB electrocatalysts, V-MoSe2/CB exhibits improved electrocatalytic activity with a small overpotential of 166 mV at −10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 65 mV dec−1. This work paves a new way for improving the HER performance through synergistic morphology, structure and electronic regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MoS2-Based materials are considered to be excellent alternative catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), where doping engineering has proven to be an effective way to tune their HER activity. Herein, a novel and facile approach was developed to prepare a phosphorus-doped molybdenum sulfide (P-MoS2) electrocatalyst by a post-doping method. After phosphorus doping, the P-MoS2 catalyst accomplished high HER catalytic activity with a low onset overpotential of −118 mV and a small Tafel slope of 52 mV dec−1, making it a promising HER electrocatalyst for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]