One-pot synthesis nickel sulfide/amorphous molybdenum sulfide nanosheets array on nickel foam as a robust oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst

To design highly efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a great challenge for electrochemical water splitting. Here we introduce a simple and cost-effective strategy for one-step synthesis of a three-dimensional Ni3S2/MoSX (x is close to 3) nanosheets on Ni foam (NF) via a sovelthermal reaction. The electrochemical performance of the Ni3S2/MoSX nanosheets on NF has been investigated and exhibits superior OER electrocatalytic activity as well as excellent electrochemical durability. As a novel non-noble-metal OER catalyst operating in basic electrolytes, this 3D cathode exhibits an onset overpotential of as low as 165 mV, a Tafel slope of 67.5 mV dec−1 and remarkable long-term stability. This catalyst maintains its catalytic activity for at least 14 h and only affords 50, 100, and 150 mA cm−2 OER current densities at overpotentials of 215 mV, 265 mV and 305 mV respectively.