Interfacial engineering of an advanced NiV-LDH@MoS2 heterostructure electrocatalyst for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution

doi:10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65224-2

Abstract

Abstract:

The development of efficient and stable non-noble-metal electrocatalysts is crucial for alkaline water electrolysis toward hydrogen production. Herein, a heterostructure comprising NiV-LDH decorated MoS₂ nanosheet arrays on carbon cloth (NiV-LDH@MoS₂) is fabricated via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The catalyst exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in 1 mol L^-1 KOH, requiring an overpotential of only 103 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm^-2, with a Tafel slope of 76.9 mV dec^-1 and exceptional stability surpassing 1000 h. The characterizations combined with theoretical calculations reveal that the heterointerface induces electron transfer from NiV-LDH to MoS₂, effectively modulating the electronic structure. This synergy significantly lowers the water-dissociation energy barrier and optimizes the hydrogen adsorption free energy, thereby collectively accelerating the alkaline HER kinetics. Furthermore, an anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzer assembled with this catalyst achieves a high current density of 1 A cm^-2 at 2.26 V and maintains stable operation for over 200 h, underscoring its practical potential. This work provides an effective interfacial-engineering strategy for designing high-performance, low-cost electrocatalysts for the alkaline HER.

Key words: Hydrogen evolution reaction, Layered double hydroxide, MoS₂, Heterostructure, Water splitting

Shihao Yu, Yueying Yan, Yang Yang, Bohan Yao, Ziwen Zhu, Dewen Wang, Zhicai Xing, Xiurong Yang. Interfacial engineering of an advanced NiV-LDH@MoS₂ heterostructure electrocatalyst for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution[J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 91: 222-231.

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URL: https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65224-2

https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/Y2026/V91/I12/222

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1. Schematic illustration for the synthesis of the NiV-LDH@MoS2 heterostructure.

Fig. 2. XRD patterns (a), SEM image (b), STEM image (c), HRTEM image (d), HAADF-STEM image (e), and EDS elemental mapping images (f) of the NiV-LDH@MoS2 heterostructure.

Fig. 3. High-resolution XPS spectra: Ni 2p (a) and V 2p (b) of NiV-LDH and NiV-LDH@MoS2; Mo 3d (c) and S 2p (d) of MoS2 and NiV-LDH@MoS2.

Fig. 4. Electrochemical HER performance of NiV-LDH@MoS2, MoS2, NiV-LDH, and Pt/C in 1 mol L-1 KOH. LSV curves (a), Tafel plots (b), comparison of overpotentials at 10 and 100 mA cm-2 (c), ECSA-normalized polarization curves (d), Nyquist plots with the equivalent circuit (inset) (e), comparison of overpotentials at 10 mA cm-2 with recently reported non-noble-metal catalysts (f), and chronopotentiometry curve of NiV-LDH@MoS2 at 10 mA cm-2 (g).

Fig. 5. DFT calculations. (a) Atomic structure model and proposed HER pathway on NiV-LDH@MoS2. (b) ΔG(H*) on Ni and V sites. (c) PDOS of Ni 3d orbitals. (d) Free energy diagrams for the HER on MoS2, NiV-LDH, and NiV-LDH@MoS2 surfaces.

Fig. 6. (a) Schematic diagram of the AEMWE cell. (b) Polarization curve of the AEM electrolyzer at 60 °C. (c) Chronopotentiometry curve of the NiFe-LDH||NiV-LDH@MoS2 electrolyzer at 1 A cm-2 and 60 °C.

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Interfacial engineering of an advanced NiV-LDH@MoS₂ heterostructure electrocatalyst for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution

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