Al, P-co-doping and interface engineering synergistically boost the electrocatalytic performance of WS2/Ni3S2/NiS nanosheet heterostructure for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The fabrication of earth-abundant electrocatalysts capable of facilitating hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) is essential for creating sustainable hydrogen fuel by water splitting. Here, we present a one-pot hydrothermal approach for producing aluminum and phosphorus co-doped NiS/Ni₃S₂/WS₂ heterostructure hybrid frameworks on nickel foam. The optimal Al and Al, P/NiWS-b@NF catalyst exhibits high HER activity with overpotentials of 139 and 227 mV at current densities of 10 and 50 mA cm⁻², respectively, thanks to the synergistic effect of the various constituents of the catalyst. What is more, it also exhibits a promising Tafel slope of 124 mV dec⁻¹ and is electrocatalytically durable for 10 hours in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solution. The high HER activity of Al, P/NiWS-b@NF could be explained by the large number of active sites of the hierarchical heterostructure and electron effects produced by the combination of interfacial and aluminum and phosphorus doping.