Effective Hydrogen Production from Alkaline and Natural Seawater using WO3-x@CdS1-x Nanocomposite-Based Electrocatalysts

Abstract

Offshore hydrogen production through water electrolysis presents significant technical and economic challenges. Achieving an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline and natural seawater environments remains daunting due to the sluggish kinetics of water dissociation. To address this issue, we synthesized electrocatalytic WO3-x@CdS1-x nanocomposites (WCSNCs) using ultrasonic-assisted laser irradiation. The synthesized WCSNCs with varying CdS contents were thoroughly characterized to investigate their structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties. Among the samples tested, the WCSNCs with 20 wt % CdS1-x in WO3-x (Wx@Sx-20%) exhibited superior electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution in a 1 M KOH solution. Specifically, the Wx@Sx-20% catalyst demonstrated an overpotential of 0.191 V at a current density of −10 mA/cm2 and a Tafel slope of 61.9 mV/dec. The Wx@Sx-20% catalysts demonstrated outstanding stability and durability, maintaining their performance after 24 h and up to 1000 CV cycles. Notably, when subjected to natural seawater electrolysis, the Wx@Sx-20% catalysts outperformed in terms of electrocatalytic HER activity and stability. The remarkable performance enhancement of the prepared electrocatalyst can be attributed to the combined effect of sulfur vacancies in CdS1-x and oxygen vacancies in WO3-x. These vacancies promote the electrochemically active surface area, enhance the rate of charge separation and transfer, increase the number of electrocatalytic active sites, and accelerate the HER process in alkaline and natural seawater environments.