Superior Electrocatalysis for Hydrogen Evolution with Crumpled Graphene/Tungsten Disulfide/Tungsten Trioxide Ternary Nanohybrids

Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenide is a promising candidate for platinum-free electrocatalysts in renewable energy applications. In this work, we developed an aerosol processing method for facile and green synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/tungsten disulfide (WS 2 )/tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) ternary nanohybrids. The resulting material has a spherical structure constructed by crumpled graphene and WS 2 /WO 3 nanorods. The crumpled graphene/WS 2 /WO 3 (CGTH) catalyst showed a superior electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with a Tafel slope of 37 mV/dec and an onset potential of 96 mV. Compared with reported MoS 2 /WS 2 -based electrocatalysts, this hybrid material shows one of the highest catalytic activities in HER. The environmentally-friendly synthesis and outstanding performance suggest a great potential of CGTH as noble metal-free electrocatalysts in water splitting.