Fe13+-ion irradiated WS2 with multi-vacancies and Fe dopants for hydrogen evolution reaction

•Flower-like Fe13+-ion irradiated WS2 nanospheres were fabricated with multi-vacancies and Fe dopants.•Moderate doses of Fe13+-ion irradiated WS2 (8*1013) exhibits excellent electrocatalytic HER activity with lower overpotential of 160 mV at 10 mA cm−2.•First principle calculations demonstrate that Fe doped WS2 coupling with multi-vacancies possesses a higher electrical conductivity compared to the pristine WS2.