Self-supported MoSx/V2O3 heterostructures as efficient hybrid catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract Earth-abundant and low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts represent a future direction for achieving sustainable hydrogen energy production. Low-cost amorphous molybdenum sulfides (MoSx), with their highly active HER activity, have emerged as outstanding catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen production. Herein, we report the development of a synergetic amorphous MoSx hybrid catalysts on V2O3 with optimized HER activity of MoSx. Our synthetic and structural characterization shows that MoSx distributes on V2O3 uniformly. HER-inert V2O3 provides a highly electrochemically active surface area for HER and promotes electron transport. The obtained hybrid MoSx/V2O3/CC catalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 146 mV at 10 mA cm−2 toward HER under acidic conditions, which is comparable with the current advanced catalysts, and high stability with no significant changes over 10 h of electrolysis. The density functional theory calculations also demonstrate that the interface of V2O3 and MoSx helps to improve the conductivity.