In-situ generation of ZnS nanoparticles in quasi-MOFs for efficient eNRR

•ZnS/quasi-MOFs (ZnS/ZIF-8-l-350) electrocatalyst was constructed when partial ligands transformed into N-doped carbon support, Zn nodes reacted with BDS to generate ZnS nanoparticles and the partial ZIF-8-L was remained by controlling the pyrolysis vulcanization temperature.•ZnS nanoparticles with small size and high dispersity afforded abundant catalytic active sites, the hydrophobicity of N-doped carbon support effectively inhibited HER and remained ZIF-8-L provided a wide reaction space. To this end, the prepared ZnS/ZIF-8-l-350 exhibited high catalytic performance in eNRR.•The prepared ZnS/ZIF-8-l-350 catalyst achieved a remarkable NH3 yield of 53.44 μg·h−1·mg−1, FE of 15.75% at −0.3 V vs. RHE in 0.05 M H2SO4 and catalytic stability.