Synergistic regulation of electronic structure and nanosheet morphology in Ru-doped WS2 for high-efficiency hydrogen evolution reaction

The synergistic modulation of both the surface electronic configuration and micromorphology of the catalyst is crucial for its electrochemical hydrogen evolution activity. This research successfully developed an efficient Ru-WS 2 NS/CC electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using a simple two-step strategy involving a solvothermal reaction followed by chemical vapor deposition. The catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity and remarkable stability in acidic electrolyte, demonstrating an overpotential of 128.8 mV (at 10 mA cm − 2 ), a Tafel slope of 58.7 mV dec − 1 , and a low charge transfer resistance of only 3.8 Ω, while maintaining high catalytic activity for at least 24 h under acidic conditions. The enhanced HER performance of the Ru-WS 2 NS/CC catalyst is attributed to two main factors: first, the strong electronic interaction induced by Ru doping, which improves the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity; second, the uniform and thin nanosheet morphology of WS 2 provides a highly developed surface area that facilitates hydrogen adsorption and desorption. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations further indicate that introducing Ruthenium (Ru) dopants substantially lowers the Gibbs free energy (ΔG H* ) associated with hydrogen adsorption on the catalyst. Analysis of charge density differences corroborates that such doping strategy efficiently tailors the electronic configuration of the WS 2 support, thereby optimizing its interfacial characteristics. This work proposes an effective electronic structure modulation strategy for developing three-dimensional materials into high-efficiency hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts.