Ni₃S₂@MoS₂@Ni₃Si₂ Seaweed-like Hybrid Structures In-situ Grown on Ni Foam as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts

Water electrolysis is a promising method for sustainable hydrogen production. The exploration of noble metal free bifunctional electrocatalysts with both good hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activity is crucial for efficient overall water splitting. The design of electrocatalysts to enhance electrocatalytic performance for both HER and OER is still a big challenge. Long Ni₃Si₂ nanowires have been in-situ grown on Ni foam by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. A facile hydrothermal method was then adopted to grow Ni₃S₂@MoS₂@Ni₃Si₂ seaweed-like structures with high active sites on the Ni₃Si₂ blades and high charge transport along central stipes. The as-produced Ni₃S₂@MoS₂@Ni₃Si₂ seaweed-like hybrid structures have been demonstrated to have both excellent HER and OER catalytic performance as integrated electrodes. Low overpotentials of 84 mV (η₁₀)/283 mV (η₅₀) and Tafel slopes of 36.0/53.7 mV dec⁻¹ have been achieved for HER/OER, respectively. Excellent long-term stabilities have been obtained for both HER and OER.