# MoS₂ for hydrogen: the edges do the work

> Molybdenum disulfide is a cheap, layered alternative to platinum for making hydrogen, but only the edges of its layers are active: the flat basal plane hardly binds hydrogen. Counting the sites of MoS₂ nanoparticles showed activity rising in step with the number of edge sites, so MoS₂ catalysts are built to expose as many edges as possible.

- Page: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/electrocatalysis/mos2-edge-sites-hydrogen-evolution
- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=mos2-edge-sites-her
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Electrocatalysis
- Method: HER catalyst
- Starting materials: MoS₂ nanoparticles (on Au(111) or graphite) or nanostructured MoS₂ films
- Product: A non-precious HER catalyst whose activity comes from its edges
- Key result: MoS₂ built from its 2H structure (a = 3.16 Å, c = 12.29 Å); polarization curves computed with illustrative parameters; the edge–activity plot shows the reported linear trend, not measured points
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 71 editable layers (6 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **Design rule**: A good HER catalyst binds hydrogen with a free energy close to zero (Hinnemann et al. 2005)
2. **MoS₂ nanoparticles**: On graphite they evolved hydrogen at a moderate overpotential of 0.1–0.2 V (Hinnemann et al. 2005)
3. **Edges are the sites**: Activity rose linearly with the number of edge sites counted by STM on Au(111) (Jaramillo et al. 2007)
4. **Expose more edges**: Mesoporous double-gyroid MoS₂ engineered to expose edge sites (Kibsgaard et al. 2012)

## Strengths

- Earth-abundant elements
- Stable in acid
- Edges can be engineered

## Limitations

- The basal plane is inert
- Poorer conductivity than metals

## Uses

- Hydrogen evolution in acid
- Photo- and electrocatalytic water splitting

## References

1. Jaramillo, Jørgensen, Bonde, Nielsen, Horch & Chorkendorff, “Identification of Active Edge Sites for Electrochemical H2 Evolution from MoS2 Nanocatalysts”, Science 2007. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141483 (primary)
2. Hinnemann, Moses, Bonde, Jørgensen, Nielsen, Horch, Chorkendorff & Nørskov, “Biomimetic Hydrogen Evolution: MoS2 Nanoparticles as Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja0504690 (primary)
3. Kibsgaard, Chen, Reinecke & Jaramillo, “Engineering the surface structure of MoS2 to preferentially expose active edge sites for electrocatalysis”, Nat. Mater. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3439 (primary)
4. Nørskov et al., “Trends in the Exchange Current for Hydrogen Evolution”, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2005. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1856988 (further reading)

Credit: After Jaramillo et al., Science 2007 (doi:10.1126/science.1141483), Hinnemann et al., JACS 2005 (doi:10.1021/ja0504690) and Kibsgaard et al., Nat. Mater. 2012 (doi:10.1038/nmat3439). MoS₂ built from its 2H structure; curves computed, parameters illustrative; trend plot schematic.

## Questions

**What does the “MoS₂ for hydrogen: the edges do the work” template show?** Molybdenum disulfide is a cheap, layered alternative to platinum for making hydrogen, but only the edges of its layers are active: the flat basal plane hardly binds hydrogen. Counting the sites of MoS₂ nanoparticles showed activity rising in step with the number of edge sites, so MoS₂ catalysts are built to expose as many edges as possible.

**What are the steps shown in “MoS₂ for hydrogen: the edges do the work”?** 1. Design rule: A good HER catalyst binds hydrogen with a free energy close to zero (Hinnemann et al. 2005). 2. MoS₂ nanoparticles: On graphite they evolved hydrogen at a moderate overpotential of 0.1–0.2 V (Hinnemann et al. 2005). 3. Edges are the sites: Activity rose linearly with the number of edge sites counted by STM on Au(111) (Jaramillo et al. 2007). 4. Expose more edges: Mesoporous double-gyroid MoS₂ engineered to expose edge sites (Kibsgaard et al. 2012).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: MoS₂ nanoparticles (on Au(111) or graphite) or nanostructured MoS₂ films. Product: A non-precious HER catalyst whose activity comes from its edges.

**Which papers is “MoS₂ for hydrogen: the edges do the work” based on?** Jaramillo, Jørgensen, Bonde, Nielsen, Horch & Chorkendorff, “Identification of Active Edge Sites for Electrochemical H2 Evolution from MoS2 Nanocatalysts”, Science 2007 (doi:10.1126/science.1141483); Hinnemann, Moses, Bonde, Jørgensen, Nielsen, Horch, Chorkendorff & Nørskov, “Biomimetic Hydrogen Evolution: MoS2 Nanoparticles as Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005 (doi:10.1021/ja0504690); Kibsgaard, Chen, Reinecke & Jaramillo, “Engineering the surface structure of MoS2 to preferentially expose active edge sites for electrocatalysis”, Nat. Mater. 2012 (doi:10.1038/nmat3439); Nørskov et al., “Trends in the Exchange Current for Hydrogen Evolution”, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2005 (doi:10.1149/1.1856988).

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