Abstract
The requirements are formulated for a new type of nanomaterials based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), which are promising to create relatively cheap and effective catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction. The possibility of implementation of some important requirements for the structure of these materials is investigated by the example of thin-film coatings containing tungsten diselenide and carbon. WSe x /C coatings are prepared via pulsed laser deposition in an inert and reactive (CH4) gas in a standard configuration and using an antidroplet screen. In some cases, low DC voltage or pulsed high-voltage bias are applied to the substrate, initiating ion bombardment of the coatings. Factors exerting an important influence on the chemical composition, morphology, and surface topography of the coatings are established. Modes of formation of a rough coating surface with a high density of WSe2 edges are determined, which is essential for high catalytic activity and performance of TMD-containing nanocatalysts. The carbon phase with a high concentration of sp2 bonds is needed for effective current transport in the formed layers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Morales-Guio, C.G., Stern, L.-A., and Hu, X., Nanostructured hydrotreating catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen evolution, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2014, doi: 10.1039/C3CS60468C.
Jaramillo, T.F., Jørgensen, K.P., Bonde, J., Nielsen, J.H., Horch, S., and Chorkendorff, I., Identification of active edge sites for electrochemical H2 evolution from MoS2 nanocatalists, Science, 2007, vol. 317, pp. 100–102.
Lee, L.T.L., He, J., Wang, B., Ma, Y., Wong, K.Y., Li, Q., Xiao, X., and Chen, T., Few-layer MoSe2 possessing high catalytic activity towards iodide/tri-iodide redox shuttles, Sci. Rep., 2014, vol. 4, pp. 1–7, doi: 10.1038/srep04063.
Karunadasa, H.I., Montalvo, E., Sun, Y., Majda, M., Long, J.R., and Chang, C.J., A molecular MoS2 edge site mimic for catalytic hydrogen generation, Science, 2012, vol. 335, pp. 698–702.
Le, D., Rawal, T.B., and Rahman, T.S., Single-layer MoS2 with sulphur vacancies: Structure and catalytic applications, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, vol. 118, pp. 5346–5351.
Klein, A., Dolatzoglou, P., Lux-Steiner, M., and Bucher, E., Influence of material synthesis and doping on the transport properties of WSe2 single crystals grown by selenium transport, Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells, 1997, vol. 46, pp. 175–186.
Vrubel, H., Moehl, T., Gratzel, M., and Hu, X., Revealing and accelerating slow electron transport in amorphous molybdenum sulphide particles for hydrogen evolution reaction, Chem. Commun., 2013, vol. 49, pp. 8985–8987.
Fominski, V.Yu., Grigoriev, S.N., Celis, J.P., Romanov, R.I., and Oshurko, V.B., Structure and mechanical properties of W-Se-C/diamond-like carbon and W-Se/diamond-like carbon bi-layer coatings prepared by pulsed laser deposition, Thin Solid Films, 2012, vol. 520, pp. 6467–6483.
Nevolin, V.N., Fominsky, V.Yu., Romanov, R.I., Smirnov, A.L., and Matsnev, N.P., Structure formation and tribological properties of MoSex coatings, formed by pulsed laser deposition, Perspek. Mater., 2004, no. 6, pp. 70–77.
Fominskii, V.Yu., Grigor’ev S.N., Romanov R.I., and Nevolin, V.N., Effect of the pulsed laserdeposition conditions on the tribological properties of thin-film nanostructured coatings based on molybdenum diselenide and carbon, Tech. Phys., 2012, vol. 57, pp. 516–523.
Grigoriev, S.N., Fominski, V.Yu., Gnedovets, A.G., and Romanov, R.I., Experimental and numerical study of the chemical composition of WSex thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition in vacuum and in a buffer gas atmosphere, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2012, vol. 258, pp. 7000–7007.
Seitzman, L.E., Bolster, R.N., and Singer, I.L., Effect of temperature and ion-to-atom ratio on the orientation of ABAD MoS2 coatings, Thin Solid Films, 1995, vol. 260, pp. 143–147.
Fominski, V.Yu., Romanov, R.I., Gusarov, A.V., and Celis, J.-P., Pulsed laser deposition of antifriction thinfilm MoSex coatings at the different vacuum conditions, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2007, vol. 201, pp. 7813–7821.
Sen, R., Govindaraj, A., Suenaga, K., Suzuki, S., Kataura, H., Iijima, S., and Achiba, Y., Encapsulated and hollow closed-cage structures of WS2 and MoS2, prepared by laser ablation at 450–1050°C, Chem. Phys. Lett., 2001, vol. 340, pp. 242–248.
Fominski, V.Yu., Grigoriev, S.N., Gnedovets, A.G., and Romanov, R.I., On the mechanism of encapsulated particle formation during pulsed laser deposition of WSex thin-film coatings, Tech. Phys. Lett., 2013, vol. 39, pp. 312–315.
Grigoriev, S.N., Fominski, V.Yu., Romanov, R.I., Gnedovets, A.G., and Volosova, M.A., Shadow masked pulsed laser deposition of WSex films: Experiment and modeling, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2013, vol. 282, pp. 607–614.
Pan, S.W., Chen, S.Y., Li, C., Huang, W., and Lai, H.K., Formation and optical properties of nanocrystalline selenium on Si substrate, Thin Solid Films, 2011, vol. 519, pp. 6102–6105.
Quintana, M., Haro-Poniatowski, E., Morales, J., and Batina, N., Synthesis of selenium nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2002, vol. 195, pp. 175–186.
Ferrari, A.C. and Robertson, J., Raman spectroscopy of amorphous, nanostructured, diamond-like carbon, and nanodiamond, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 2004, vol. 362, pp. 2477–2512.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © S.N. Grigoriev, V.Yu. Fominski, V.N. Nevolin, R.I. Romanov, M.A. Volosova, 2014, published in Perspektivnye Materialy, 2014, No. 8, pp. 31–41.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grigoriev, S.N., Fominski, V.Y., Nevolin, V.N. et al. Control of structure of WSe x /C nanocoatings synthesized via pulsed laser deposition. Inorg. Mater. Appl. Res. 6, 143–150 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075113315020082
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075113315020082