Modulating the electronic structure of Mo species by forming Cr2O3/MoN interface for boosted electrocatalytic HER performance

Hydrogen production from water splitting in alkaline solution has been hampered by the cleavage of strong OH-H bond with high energy barrier. Herein, we develop the Cr2O3/MoN interface nanosheets for hydrogen evolution in basic media. The creation of the interface between Cr2O3 and MoN crystal effectively tunes the electronic structure of Mo atom, making it easier to accelerate the dissociation of water molecule. Consequently, the Cr2O3/MoN interface electrocatalyst delivers the current density of 10 mA cm−2 at the overpotential of 30 mV and the Tafel slope is 61.3 mV dec-1 together with robust durability, providing an efficient avenue to improve electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity in basic solution.