Fig. 3: Electrocatalytic performance of different catalysts for high-current-density HER.

a Polarization curves, (b) Tafel plots, and (c) Δη/Δlog|j | ratios of different catalysts in 0.5 M H2SO4 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 with iR correction. d Photos and (e) corresponding size distribution of H2 bubbles leaving the surfaces of HC-MoS2/Mo2C catalysts. f A comparison of the HER performance of HC-MoS2/Mo2C catalysts and Pt-based catalysts we tested and previously reported (see details in Supplementary Table 2). The “w/o iR corr.” and “with iR corr.” in (f) mean without and with iR correction. g Chronoamperometric response (i–t) curves for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using HC-MoS2/Mo2C at current densities of 200 and ~500 mA cm−2 for 24 h, corresponding to potentials of −360 and −400 mV vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) without iR correction. The error bars show the standard derivation in (c) and (d).