Open-ended W18O49-filled tungsten dichalcogenide nanotubes grown on a W substrate to efficiently catalyze hydrogen evolution.

ABSTRACT

A scalable infrared-heating CVD method was developed to grow few-walled WSe2 or WS2 nanotube arrays in situ filled with highly conductive single-crystal W18O49, and a simple pressure control led to their universally uncapped top-ends. Open-ended WS2 nanotubes grown on the W substrate performed excellently as an electrocatalyst to facilitate the HER in acid, contributing to high-density active edge sites and good electronic coupling between the substrate and nanotubes.