Hydrogen has become an attractive and promising clean source for future global energy demand. Producing hydrogen by water splitting is one of the effective ways. However, the practical application of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting has been limited due to its sluggish kinetics. Hence, developing suitable catalysts to improve the HER performance is highly desirable.

In this work, A ternary nickel-cobalt-molybdenum-based sulfide nanosheet-like catalyst supported on Ni foam (Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF) is first synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. To further improve the catalytic performance for the HER, a Pt-Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF catalyst with a doping amount of 59 μgPt cm^-2 (0.86 wt%) is fabricated. The nanosheet-like morphology of the catalysts is confirmed by scanning...[ Read more ]

Hydrogen has become an attractive and promising clean source for future global energy demand. Producing hydrogen by water splitting is one of the effective ways. However, the practical application of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting has been limited due to its sluggish kinetics. Hence, developing suitable catalysts to improve the HER performance is highly desirable.

In this work, A ternary nickel-cobalt-molybdenum-based sulfide nanosheet-like catalyst supported on Ni foam (Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF) is first synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. To further improve the catalytic performance for the HER, a Pt-Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF catalyst with a doping amount of 59 μgPt cm^-2 (0.86 wt%) is fabricated. The nanosheet-like morphology of the catalysts is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization. The Co and Mo ions in Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF, as well as the Pt ions in Pt-Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF, are proved to be dopants based on the results of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Tafel slope and overpotential at 10 mA cm^-2 are applied as two crucial indicators for the evaluation of the catalysts. Both catalysts can be applied in acidic and alkaline media and show excellent catalytic performance. The performance of Pt-Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF is even comparable to the commercial 20%Pt/C catalyst. The high activity is further verified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electrochemical surface area (ECSA) measurements. The roles of Ni, Co, and Mo ions in Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF, as well as Pt ions in Pt-Ni-Co-Mo-S/NF, are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra (XPS). This work produces excellent catalysts for the HER in water splitting with pH-universalism, which brings a bright prospect for hydrogen energy technology.