Refining the surface properties of WO2.7 by vacancy engineering and transition metals doping for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

A structure engineering strategy is presented for activating WO2.7-x to achieve significantly enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution performance by introducing oxygen vacancies and doping low-valent transition metals (Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn). Experimental study combined with theoretical calculations are employed to analyze the structural changes of WO2.7-x and reveal the relationship between them and the intrinsic catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction.