Electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising technology for large-scale hydrogen production. However, it requires efficient catalysts to overcome the large overpotentials in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report a novel heterostructure catalyst Co9S8/Cu2S on copper foam (Co9S8/Cu2S/CF) with multistep impregnation and electrodeposition. Due to the strong interfacial interaction, the interfacial electrons transfer from Co sites to S sites, which promote the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates, water molecules, as well as the dissociation of water molecules. Therefore, the heterostructure catalyst exhibits low overpotentials of 195 mV for OER and 165 mV for HER at 10 mA cm–2, respectively. Moreover, it only needs 1.6 V to realize water splitting at 10 mA cm–2 in a two-electrode cell. This work provides an efficient method to tailor the surface electronic structure through specific morphological design and construct a heterostructure interface to achieve alkaline water splitting.

The design and synthesis of bifunctional heterostructure catalysts can effectively achieve excellent bi-function electrolyzed water catalyzed reactions. Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to explore the exact active centers for the...

Rational design of bifunctional transition metal electrocatalysts with customary efficiency for water splitting is essential for yielding high-purity hydrogen, but remains challenging. Herein, we propose a non-metal atoms S and...

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Developing high‐activity, good‐stability oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is the key to solving the problem of hydrogen production from electrolytic water. Cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH)2) is a hopeful OER catalyst, but its poor conductivity and low inherent activity limit its OER performance. Herein, we used group IB metals of Au, Ag, and Cu to increase the OER performance of Co(OH)2 via the electrodeposition method. All three metals can increase the carrier concentration and proportion of high‐valence cobalt ions. The analysis results disclose that the construction of Ag−Co(OH)2 heterostructure can optimize the electronic structure through interfacial interactions, produce a moderate proportion of high‐valence cobalt centers, enhance the charge transport capacity and the adsorption of hydroxyl species, thus accelerating the OER kinetics and effectively improving the inherent catalytic activity. This work not only develops effective and steady catalysts but also provides a facile method to enhance the OER performance through interface engineering.