Dual active sites in Ce-Co-Ni heterostructure for efficient hydrogen evolution in alkaline and seawater media

Designing an efficient and cost-effective catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for achieving sustainable hydrogen production, yet it remains a significant challenge. In this work, unique flower-like CeO₂/Co₄N@Ni₃S₂ heterostructure was prepared with sulfide nickel foam as the substrate by using a straightforward approach. Theoretical calculations and experiments reveal that water molecules can be readily activated on Co₄N with a low energy barrier of 0.31 eV, while the cooperation of CeO₂ and Ni₃S₂ facilitates the rapid desorption of hydrogen atoms and optimization of the catalyst morphology, thereby significantly accelerating the HER kinetics. As a result, the optimized flower-like CeO₂/Co₄N@Ni₃S₂ hybrid displays excellent HER performance with extremely low η₁₀ values of 60 mV and 96 mV in both alkaline and seawater electrolytes, respectively. This study provides a simple approach for integrating high-performance transition metal catalysts with multifunctional active sites.