Abstract
Long and dense MoS2/Ni3S2 co-axial heterostructure nanowires were prepared on nickel foam by simple hydrothermal and annealing treatments. Such material shows extraordinary HER performance in alkaline solution at large current density with excellent stability. This study highlights that besides suitable component design, favorable structure design is also essentially important for improving the performance of electrocatalysts.
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Splitting water under large current density is essential for efficient large-scale production and commercial utilization of hydrogen. However, the performance of the available electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is far from satisfactory under large current density in alkaline electrolyte. Here we report a remarkably active and durable electrocatalyst, long and dense MoS2/Ni3S2 co-axial heterostructure nanowires on nickel foam (NF). Notably, it requires only 182 and 200 mV overpotential to achieve large current density of 500 and 1000 mA cm−2, respectively, in alkaline solution, which are far superior to those of Pt/C-NF (281 and 444 mV) and the reported best non-noble metal catalysts (191 and 220 mV). The physical origin for this extraordinary HER performance is analyzed, which provides a useful guide for structure design of electrocatalysts to further improve their performance.