MoS₂/NiSe₂/rGO Multiple-Interfaced Sandwich-like Nanostructures as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Abstract

Constructing a heterogeneous interface using different components is one of the effective measures to achieve the bifunctionality of nanocatalysts, while synergistic interactions between multiple interfaces can further optimize the performance of single-interface nanocatalysts. The non-precious metal nanocatalysts MoS2/NiSe2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) bilayer sandwich-like nanostructure with multiple well-defined interfaces is prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. MoS2 and rGO are layered nanostructures with clear boundaries, and the NiSe2 nanoparticles with uniform size are sandwiched between both layered nanostructures. This multiple-interfaced sandwich-like nanostructure is prominent in catalytic water splitting with low overpotential for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and almost no degradation in performance after a 20 h long-term reaction. In order to simulate the actual overall water splitting process, the prepared nanostructures are assembled into MoS2/NiSe2/rGO||MoS2/NiSe2/rGO modified two-electrode system, whose overpotential is only 1.52 mV, even exceeded that of noble metal nanocatalyst (Pt/C||RuO2~1.63 mV). This work provides a feasible idea for constructing multi-interface bifunctional electrocatalysts using nanoparticle-doped bilayer-like nanostructures.

Keywords

• nanoparticle-doped bilayer-like nanostructures
• multiple interfaces
• overall water splitting
• dual function
• non-precious metal catalysis