Defect engineering of Ni3N/Mo2C heterostructure for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction performance

Electrocatalytic water splitting is being considered an effective approach to address the increasing energy crises and environmental issues. But it still suffers from a lack of efficient and stable electrocatalysts. Developing electrocatalysts through an integration of defect engineering and heterojunction engineering could be a reliable solution for improved activity, stability, and practicability. In this context, a heterostructure of Ni 3 N/Mo 2 C@CP was synthesized using a facile hydrothermal method and two-step heating treatment, including carbonization and nitridation. Moreover, the defects were intentionally produced by zinc intermediate doping in Ni 3 N/Mo 2 C@CP. The ratio of Zn versus Ni and Mo metal precursor was gradually increased to optimize the defects in Ni 3 N/Mo 2 C@CP heterostructure for excellent HER performance. Eventually, the optimized defect-rich Ni 3 N/Mo 2 [email protected] heterostructure requires only a small overpotential of 65 mV to attain the current density of 10 mA cm −2 , indicating a remarkable HER performance. Apart from the HER activity, defect-rich Ni 3 N/Mo 2 [email protected] heterostructure exhibited long-term stability over 112 h for continuous electrochemical hydrogen production.