Anchoring ultra-small MoC nanocrystals on honeycomb-structured N-doped carbon spheres for efficient hydrogen evolution.

Molybdenum carbide (MoC) has attracted considerable research interest as one of the most efficient non-noble electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Supporting nanosized MoC on a conductive carbon matrix with high porosity and large surface area represents an efficient strategy to enhance its HER performance. Herein, we constructed a MoC based HER catalyst consisting of ultra-small MoC nanocrystals anchored on honeycomb-structured N-doped carbon spheres (MoC-HNCS). The as-prepared MoC-HNCS manifests a high HER catalytic activity in alkaline media with an overpotential of 128 mV at 10 mA cm, a Tafel slope of 60 mV decade, and good stability.