Finding efficient, stable, and inexpensive electrocatalysts
is
the key for water-splitting for developing hydrogen energy technology.
The abundant MoS2 has hydrogen evolution activity comparable
to that of Pt and is regarded as an efficient alternative for noble-metal-based
electrocatalysts; however, it cannot be widely used due to the limitation
of less exposed active sites. Herein, we propose a metal–organic
framework (MOF)-etching and vulcanization strategy to design CoS2@NiS-MoS2 ternary composite heterostructures on
Ti foil. The MOF-derived open framework structure is conducive to
electrolyte entry and bubble diffusion, and a large number of nanosheet
edges are exposed to greatly increase the number of active sites.
Moreover, the heterojunction heterogeneous interface formed by CoS2, NiS, and MoS2 adjusts the local charge distribution
and reduces the kinetic barrier during water splitting. In 1 mol/L
KOH, the electrocatalyst required only 91 mV overpotential to deliver
a current density of 10 mA cm–2 and had a Tafel
slope of 53 mV dec–1 and good electrochemical stability.
This work highlights the importance of control strategies for surface
engineering at multiple scales, which can be used for the exploration
of efficient and robust electrocatalysts for large-scale alkaline
electrolyzers.