Hydrogen evolution from water through metal sulfide reactions.

Transition metal sulfides play an important catalytic role in many chemical reactions. In this work, we have conducted a careful computational study of the structures, electronic states, and reactivity of metal sulfide cluster anions M2S(X)(-) (M = Mo and W, X = 4-6) using density functional theory. Detailed structural analysis shows that these metal sulfide anions have ground state isomers with two bridging sulfide bonds, notably different in some cases from the corresponding oxides with the same stoichiometry. The chemical reactivity of these metal sulfide anions with water has also been carried out. After a thorough search on the reactive potential energy surface, we propose several competitive, energetically favorable, reaction pathways that lead to the evolution of hydrogen. Selectivity in the initial water addition and subsequent hydrogen migration are found to be the key steps in all the proposed reaction channels. Initial adsorption of water is most favored involving a terminal metal sulfur bond in Mo2S4(-) isomers whereas the most preferred orientation for water addition involves a bridging metal sulfur bond in the case of W2S4(-) and M2S5(-) isomers. In all the lowest energy H2 elimination steps, the interacting hydrogen atoms involve a metal hydride and a metal hydroxide (or thiol) group. We have also observed a higher energy reaction channel where the interacting hydrogen atoms in the H2 elimination step involve a thiol (-SH) and a hydroxyl (-OH) group. For all the reaction pathways, the Mo sulfide reactions involve a higher barrier than the corresponding W analogues. We observe for both metals that reactions of M2S4(-) and M2S5(-) clusters with water to liberate H2 are exothermic and involve modest free energy barriers. However, the reaction of water with M2S6(-) is highly endothermic with a considerable barrier due to saturation of the local bonding environment.