An electrodeposited ReS2/Ni3S2 heterostructure on the nickel foam as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Hydrogen emerges as a promising alternative to fossil fuels owing to its environmentally friendly and renewable nature. As the global energy crisis intensifies, the development of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting becomes increasingly imperative. Herein, we present the fabrication of ReS 2 /Ni 3 S 2 heterostructure on the nickel foam (NF) substrate via a facile one-step electrodeposition approach. The study uncovered a significant synergistic effect between ReS 2 and Ni 3 S 2 , thereby obtaining excellent catalytic activity in both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The remarkable electrocatalytic activity of the ReS 2 /Ni 3 S 2 /NF catalyst is evidenced by its exceptionally low overpotentials of just 116 mV and 307 mV for HER and OER, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . Furthermore, this catalyst demonstrates outstanding performance in the overall water splitting process, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm −2 at a low cell voltage of only 1.71 V and the catalytic activity remains stable over an extended duration of 100 h. This discovery not only paves the way for their broader practical applications in the future but also enriches the exploration of high-performance electrocatalysts.