Interface Engineering-Induced 1T-MoS2/NiS Heterostructure for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Metal phase molybdenum disulfide (1T-MoS2) is considered a promising electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, an interface engineering-induced strategy is reported to prepare a 1T-MoS2/NiS heterostructure. The 1T-MoS2/NiS heterostructure exhibits an enhanced HER activity compared with that of the 1T-MoS2 in 1.0 M KOH. It achieves an overpotential of 0.12 V at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a Tafel slope of 69 mV dec−1. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the interface engineering-induced 1T-MoS2/NiS heterostructure exhibits regulated electronic states of the S sites in 1T-MoS2, thus promoting the HER activity. This work demonstrates that tuning the electronic structure through interface engineering to enhance the intrinsic activity of electrocatalysts is a feasible strategy.