Ni-doped MoS2 nanoparticles as highly active hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts

Abstract

The replacement of Pt with cheap metal electrocatalysts with high efficiency and superior stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a great challenge. Furthermore, the optimization of MoS₂ electrocatalysts has attracted much attention. In this work, we report a simple strategy to enhance the HER ability of MoS₂ catalysts via the doping of nickel. With the doping of a small amount of nickel, the MoS₂ catalyst shows more electrochemical active sites, higher turnover frequency over each active site and better conductivity, resulting in excellent HER activity with a small Tafel slope of 47 mV dec⁻¹, making it a promising HER electrocatalyst for practical applications.