Preparation of WS2 Nanosheets from Lithium Intercalation for Hydrogen Evolution 

¹Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan, ROC

²Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, 128 Sec. 2, Academia Road, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC

Adv. Mater. Lett., 2018, 9 (2), pp 128-131

DOI: 10.5185/amlett.2018.1923

Publication Date (Web): May 16, 2018

Copyright © IAAM-VBRI Press

E-mail: billchen821024@gmail.com

Abstract

In this content, the few-layered 1T-WS₂ nanosheets were prepared by chemical exfoliation and applied to study hydrogen evolution reaction. Lithium were introduced from n-butyllithium in hexane solution and showed intercalation into the bulk WS₂ powder to form the LixWS₂ compound in a teflon lined autoclave at a temperature of 1000 ^oC for 5 hours. Different concentration of n-butyllithium solution were used with the intention of observing the as-prepared nanosheet properties and the influence on the hydrogen evolution reaction. After the LixWS₂ powder reacted with DI-water and underwent ultrasonic treatment, the few-layered 1T-WS₂ nanosheets were obtained. The size of the as-prepared nanosheets was in the scale of several hundred nanometers. The layer number of the sheets can be observed and determined as about the range of three to six layers. Furthermore, the measurements of UV-vis, TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope), AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) and hydrogen evolution reaction were carried out. In this report, the 1T-WS₂ nanosheets show excellent catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction. This indicates that 1T-WS₂ nanosheets are promising in sustainable production of hydrogen fuel and increasing the efficiency of hydrogen production.

Keywords

Lithium intercalation, WS₂, nanosheet, hydrogen evolution reaction.