Exfoliated WS2 nanosheet – Ag3PO4 heterogeneous composite catalyst for effective electrochemical water-splitting

Catalysts exhibiting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity are vital for sustainable energy technologies. Water-splitting is a cost-effective method to produce hydrogen without pollution. Here, hydrothermally prepared 2D-layered WS2:Ag3PO4 (1, 3, 5 %) composite is explored for HER activity. The Ag3PO4 offers excellent electron-hole pair generation by redox reaction, while WS2 provides high surface area and active edge sites. The Ag3PO4/3wt%WS2 composite show promising HER activity with a low overpotential (206 mV), low Tafel slope (176 mV/dec), and high electrochemical surface area (95 mF/cm2) making it a promising HER catalyst.