Design, Synthesis and High HER Performances of 3D Ni/Mo Sulfide on Ni Foam

Abstract Exploring noble‐metal‐free and earth‐abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an efficient way to mitigate energy and protect the environment. Herein, a noble‐metal‐free core‐shell catalyst, MoS 2 /Ni 3 S 2 /NF, was designed for HER and synthesized using a simple one‐step hydrothermal method. The MoS 2 −Ni 3 S 2 hetero‐structured nanorods show a high HER performance with an overpotential of 93 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 in alkaline conditions. The study combines density function theory (DFT) calculation with electrochemical experiments proved that the strong coupling synergy between MoS 2 and Ni 3 S 2 optimizes the electronic structure of the product and reduces the adsorption energy of water molecules, thus significantly enhancing the electrochemical HER activity. This work reveals the reaction mechanism of electrochemical hydrolysis and might shed some new lights on the design and fabrication of efficient and robust three‐dimensional hybrid electrode materials for a variety of electrochemical applications