Dual-Site Assisted Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on NiS/VS₂@NF

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Engineering non-noble metal heterostructures with multiple active sites is key to improving multistep reactions.
• Overcoming scaling relationships is crucial for efficient electrocatalysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a dual-site heterogeneous catalyst for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• To investigate the mechanism of the catalyst at the atomic level.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of NiS/VS2@NF heterostructure on nickel foam.
• In situ spectroscopic analysis.
• Theoretical calculations (DFT).

Main Results:

• The NiS/VS2@NF catalyst demonstrated high activity and stability for alkaline HER.
• Interface engineering created a unique electronic environment facilitating water adsorption, dissociation, and hydrogen evolution.
• Achieved high current densities (0.5 and 1 A cm⁻²) at low overpotentials (222 and 279 mV).
• Exhibited negligible degradation over 140 hours of continuous operation.

Conclusions:

• The developed NiS/VS2@NF catalyst surpasses commercial Pt/C and other transition metal sulfides.
• This work provides insights into designing advanced catalysts for high-performance alkaline HER.
• The findings have implications for broader electrochemical applications.