Facile Synthesis Of Mos2/Ni2v3o8 Nanosheets For Ph-Universal Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis

MoS2 presents an attractive performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic environment. However, its worse catalytic performance in neutral and alkaline media is problematic for practical application. Herein, stable MoS2/Ni2V3O8 nanosheets are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, which exhibit enhanced HER activities in all pH solutions as opposed to the pristine MoS2 and Ni2V3O8. The overpotentials are 48, 52, and 68 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) with small Tafel slopes of 46, 54, and 55 mV dec(-1) in alkaline, acidic and neutral media, respectively, which are competitive to that of Pt/C. The superior HER activity is due to the defective lattices, suitable interface band alignment, as well as the synergistic effect between MoS2 and Ni2V3O8. First-principles calculations show that the electronic coupling at the interface results in enhanced electronic conductivity, optimal hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation free energies. This work demonstrates that rational design of unique MoS2-based heterostructures can effectively improve their HER activities, which holds great potential for practical applications in pH-universal overall water splitting.