Heterogeneous SnS-Ni3S2 nanostructure for efficient overall water splitting

Abstract Efficient and cheap catalysts that simultaneously catalyze hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution are urgently desired. Herein, nickel foam supported hybrid SnS-Ni3S2 is firstly developed via a solvothermal method as advanced dualfunctional catalysts in alkaline media. TEM and electrochemical tests reveal that, the hetero-interface between SnS and Ni3S2 supplies a large number of defects as catalysis sites for improved activities. In addition, composite catalyst acquires improved charge transfer for catalysis. The present sample exhibits good bifunctionality with low overpotentials of 145 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution and 298 mV at 20 mA cm−2 for oxygen evolution. For overall water splitting, a low cell voltage of 1.66 V could generate a high current density of 100 mA cm−2 in a two-electrode cell, exhibiting great promise for practical application.