Hydrogen production given an edge by molybdenum sulphide

Researchers have found that molybdenum sulphide (MoS₂) could be a more productive as a catalyst for hydrogen production than previously thought.

The researchers from North Carolina State University, Duke University, NC and Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY found that the entire surface of MoS₂ can be used as a catalyst, not just the edges of the material.

“The key finding here is that the intrinsic catalytic performance of MoS₂ is much better than the research community thought,” said Linyou Cao, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper describing the work. “We’re optimistic that this can be a step toward making hydrogen a larger part of our energy portfolio.”

Hydrogen can be produced from water in a process called hydrogen evolution, which involves the use of an expensive platinum catalyst. Another candidate for a hydrogen evolution catalyst is MoS₂, which is inexpensive and abundant but long thought of limited utility because it was believed that the edges of MoS₂ act as catalysts, leaving the bulk of the material inactive.