Porous one-dimensional Mo2C–amorphous carbon composites: high-efficient and durable electrocatalysts for hydrogen generation

Porous one-dimensional Mo2C-amorphous carbon composites, fabricated by in situ solid state reactions, are exhibited as effective and high-performance electrocatalysts towards the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The morphological and structural characteristics of the Mo2C based electrocatalysts were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The analyses showed that they had various advantages for the HER, including a high crystallinity, porous and tubular characteristics and good conductivity. The porous one-dimensional Mo2C-amorphous carbon composites with a larger content of Mo2C and moderate thickness of the carbon layers exhibited superior catalytic activities for HER to most of the Mo2C based electrocatalysts recently reported.