Two Birds with One Stone: Concurrent Ligand Removal and Carbon Encapsulation Decipher Thickness-Dependent Catalytic Activity.

ABSTRACT: A carbon shell encapsulating a transition metal-based core has emerged as an intriguing type of catalyst structure, but the effect of the shell thickness on the catalytic properties of the buried components is not well known. Here, we present a proof-of-concept study to reveal the thickness effect by carbonizing the isotropic and homogeneous oleylamine (OAm) ligands that cover colloidal MoS₂. A thermal treatment turns OAm into a uniform carbon shell, while the size of MoS₂ monolayers remains identical. When evaluated toward an acidic hydrogen evolution reaction, the calcined MoS₂ catalysts deliver a volcano-type activity trend that depends on the calcination temperature. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and depth-profiling X-ray photoelectron spectros

SUBMITTER: Guo K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9650766 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature