MOF-Derived Flower-like MoS2@TiO2 Nanohybrids with Enhanced Activity for Hydrogen Evolution.

A simple hydrothermal method is developed for synthesizing crystalline MoS2@TiO2 nanohybrids with metal-organic framework (MOF) as precursor. At an optimal ratio of 14.6 wt % MoS2, the resultant material exhibits prominent catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with a high hydrogen production rate of 10 046 μmol h-1 g-1 under visible light illumination with fluorescein as photosensitizer. Furthermore, the synthesized catalyst also possesses an attractive electrocatalytic activity with an onset overpotential of -300 mV (vs RHE) and a Tafel slope of ∼81 mV dec-1. The enhanced catalyst performances are mainly attributed to the in situ formed active sites, featuring a uniform dispersion and strong connection of MoS2 and TiO2, which can facilitate electron transfer. In addition, the MoS2@TiO2 nanohybrids are highly stable and completely recyclable over HER.