Construction of FeOOH-ReS2-Ni3S2/NF Catalyst and Its Electrocatalytic Water Splitting Performance

Electrocatalytic water splitting is a core technology for green hydrogen production, with the slow kinetics of the OER and insufficient bifunctional catalytic activity being the primary bottlenecks. FeOOH exhibits excellent OER activity, but its application is limited by low electrical conductivity and high energy barriers for intermediate formation. In this study, a two-step hydrothermal method combined with an interfacial electronic regulation strategy was employed to construct, for the first time, a ternary heterostructured bifunctional electrocatalyst FeOOH-ReS 2 -Ni 3 S 2 /NF, achieving precise coupling of multiple active phases and efficient regulation of interfacial electrons. Structural characterization confirms that the catalyst exhibits a composite morphology combining nanospheres and three-dimensionally interwoven nanosheets, with uniform distribution of Fe, Ni, Re, and S elements, forming tight heterojunctions between components. The introduction of FeOOH induces strong electronic interactions with ReS 2 -Ni 3 S 2 , triggering lattice strain and bond tension regulation, which optimizes the catalyst’s electronic structure and lays the foundation for rapid interfacial charge transfer. Electrochemical testing indicates that in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte, the catalyst exhibits a HER overpotential as low as 72 mV (Tafel slope 90 mV dec -1 ) at a current density of 10 mA cm -2 , while the OER overpotential is only 238 mV (Tafel slope 35.8 mV dec -1 ); the full-water-splitting cell achieved a current density of 10 mA cm -2 at just 1.53 V and operated stably for 100 hours. This study provides a new approach to interface regulation for the design of highly efficient non-precious-metal bifunctional full-water-splitting catalysts. Download: Download high-res image (264KB) Download: Download full-size image