Work

Direct solvothermal growth of morphology-controlled TaS 2 on substrates enables stable self-supported hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Layered transition metal sulfides, such as TaS 2 , have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the solution-phase synthesis of TaS 2 remains challenging and underdeveloped. Herein, we present an effective solvothermal protocol for the growth of TaS 2 on different substrates, including Ta plate and carbon cloth, enabling the fabrication of self-supported electrodes. By employing ligands during synthesis, the morphology of TaS 2 can be tailored from nanodisks (NDs) to nanosheets (NSs), while preserving a highly crystalline single-phase 1T structure. HER evaluation under acidic conditions reveals that both the catalyst morphology and the underlying substrate significantly influence the electrocatalytic performance. Among the electrodes, TaS 2 NSs grown on a Ta plate exhibit the best HER activity, with an overpotential of 377 mV at 10 mA cm -2 , a Tafel slope of 110 mV dec -1 , and stable hydrogen production for over 45 h at 10 mA cm -2 . We demonstrate that the developed synthetic approach enables morphological control for tuning catalytic activity. Furthermore, all self-supported electrodes demonstrate excellent long-term stability regardless of morphology or substrate. Our work highlights the developed solvothermal route as a versatile approach for the direct growth of morphology-controlled TaS 2 self-supported electrodes with high stability and efficient HER performance.

Source: Journal of Materials Chemistry A

DOI: 10.1039/d6ta07594k