One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ni3S2/MoS2/FeOOH Hierarchical Microspheres on Ni Foam as a High-Efficiency and Durable Dual-Function Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting

Electrochemical water splitting is a valid way for production of the pollution-free, cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen energy. Herein, Ni3S2/MoS2/FeOOH hierarchical microspheres constructed by nanobelt building blocks were directly grown on Ni foam via a simple one-pot hydrothermal approach. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of these components as well as the unique hierarchical microsphere structure, Ni3S2/MoS2/FeOOH exhibits superior dual-function electrocatalytic activity for water splitting in 1.0 M KOH, with low overpotentials of 219 mV for OER at 100 mA cm(-2) and 76 mV for HER at 10 mA cm(-2). The electrolyzer based on the Ni3S2/MoS2/FeOOH electrodes only needs a low cell voltage of 1.52 V to drive water splitting at 10 mA cm(-2), which is comparable to the state-of-the-art Pt-C||IrO2 couple (1.50 V). The cost-efficient and high-performance Ni3S2/MoS2/FeOOH bifunctional electrocatalyst developed in this work exhibits a potential application prospect in industrial hydrogen production.