MoS₂ Anchored on Agar‐Derived 3D Nitrogen‐Doped Porous Carbon for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract MoS₂ has been explored as a potential material for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, the limited number of active sites and poor conductivity restrain its applications. Herein, a facile method is reported to construct MoS₂ nanosheets (MoS₂ NSs) grown on agar‐derived 3D nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (MoS₂‐NPC). The as‐prepared MoS₂‐NPC composite exhibits good stability and HER electrocatalytic properties with a low overpotential of 209 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a small Tafel slope of 41 mV dec⁻¹. Furthermore, as an anode of LIBs, it delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1289 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and rate capability of 712 and 419 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 and 2.0 A g⁻¹, respectively. This is attributed to the synergistic effects and unique 3D network structure, which avoids the aggregation of MoS₂ and results in more exposed active sites. The agar‐derived 3D nitrogen‐doped porous carbon can act as a support material for MoS₂ NSs dispersed on the surface, providing a cheap and efficient strategy to prepare high quality catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications.