MoSx@NiO Composite Nanostructures: An Advanced Nonprecious Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

The design of the earth‐abundant, nonprecious, efficient, and stable electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media is a hot research topic in the field of renewable energies. A heterostructured system composed of MoS_x deposited on NiO nanostructures (MoS_x@NiO) as a robust catalyst for water splitting is proposed here. NiO nanosponges are applied as cocatalyst for MoS₂ in alkaline media. Both NiO and MoS₂@NiO composites are prepared by a hydrothermal method. The NiO nanostructures exhibit sponge‐like morphology and are completely covered by the sheet‐like MoS₂. The NiO and MoS₂ exhibit cubic and hexagonal phases, respectively. In the MoS_x@NiO composite, the HER experiment in 1 m KOH electrolyte results in a low overpotential (406 mV) to produce 10 mA cm^?2 current density. The Tafel slope for that case is 43 mV per decade, which is the lowest ever achieved for MoS₂‐based electrocatalyst in alkaline media. The catalyst is highly stable for at least 13 h, with no decrease in the current density. This simple, cost‐effective, and environmentally friendly methodology can pave the way for exploitation of MoS_x@NiO composite catalysts not only for water splitting, but also for other applications such as lithium ion batteries, and fuel cells.