Synthesis of MoS2 nanoparticles embedded, N, S co-doped mesoporous carbon via molten salt method as hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst under alkaline and neutral conditions.

We developed a salt-template strategy to prepare MoS 2 nanoparticles (NPs) embedded, N, S co-doped carbons via the solid-state process. The addition of the inorganic salt played two main roles in the synthetic proceeding. First, the salts could be utilized as the templates to produce the mesopores, which could be removed by simple washing process. Second, the salts could promote the formation of MoS 2 NPs. The as-received electrocatalyst, K-G4.0T2.0Mo1.0, possessed high BET surface area of 446 m2 g−1, in addition to high double layer capacitance of 24.5 mF cm−2 in the alkaline media. When evaluated as the electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), K-G4.0T2.0Mo1.0 demonstrated excellent performance in the alkaline and neutral medias. In details, K-G4.0T2.0Mo1.0 showed a low overpotential of 173 and 358 mV to afford 10 mA cm−2 under alkaline and neutral conditions, respectively, as well as outstanding durability. • A salt-assisted strategy was developed to synthesize mesoporous carbon. • The porosities and the crystalline structures of the samples could be tuned. • K-G4.0T2.0Mo1.0 showed outstanding electrocatalytic performance towards HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]