Abstract
Intercalated and unmodified TiS
2
nanomaterials were synthesized and characterized by UV-Visible-NIR spectroscopy, Powder X-Ray Diffraction, and X-Ray Photoelectron and Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicated that CoS and Cu
2
S appeared to be intercalated between sheets of partially or fully oxidized TiS
2
, which could be solution processed on conductive oxide substrates. The materials were then applied toward water oxidation and evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and impedance measurements. While unmodified TiS
2
was not observed to perform well as an electrocatalyst with overpotentials >3 V in 1 M NaOH electrolyte, CoS intercalation was found to lower the overpotential by ∼1.8–1.44 V at 10 mA/cm
2
. Conversely, Cu
2
S intercalation resulted in only a modest increase in performance (>2.3 V overpotential). Impedance measurements indicated that intercalation increased the series resistance in the as-prepared samples but decreased the series resistance in oxidized samples.