Vanadium modulated Ni-MoSe2 as highly efficient electrocatalyst for alkaline hydrogen evolution

Hydrogen has long been widely recognized as a promising carbon-free fuel with potential to tackle energy and environmental challenges owing to its high energy density and cleanliness. Water electrolysis offers an environmentally friendly method for hydrogen production from water and largely depends on the efficiency of electrocatalysts. Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe 2 ) has been regarded as one of the most promising earth-abundant and cost-effective catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nevertheless, its catalytic activity has thus far remained below expectations. In this research, we introduce a vanadium-modulated Ni-MoSe 2 catalyst (NiV-MoSe 2 ), demonstrating outstanding catalytic performance towards HER with an overpotential of 74.5 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and a Tafel slope of 56.2 mV dec −1 . The enhancement of catalytic performance is highly likely attributed to the dual doping of vanadium and nickel. As a result, the intrinsic activity, electrochemical active surface area, and conductivity are significantly improved. These findings enable the NiV-MoSe 2 catalyst to be an exceptionally competitive alternative to noble metal-based catalysts, and may stimulate further studies in designing efficient HER catalysts through multi-heteroatom substitution.