Hydrothermal synthesis of NiS2@SnS2 nanohybrid for the water splitting application

Abstract

The potential capabilities of stannous sulphide (SS) in the domain of the hydrogen evolution process (HER) have attracted significant interest. By employing a straightforward single-step hydrothermal method, we successfully boosted the HER performance of SnS2. This was achieved by fabricating a nanocomposite consisting of nickel sulphide (NS) and tin sulphide (SS) nanostructure. The resulting NS@SS nanocomposite shows the superior electrocatalytic behavior for the HER compared to pristine NS and SS material. The composite exhibited a morphology with two distinct phases, such as nanoparticles and nanorod structures that are responsible for good electrochemical properties. The NS@SS nanocomposite has several advantages for enhancing HER electroactivity, including a greater active surface area, increased edge-terminated structures, and better conductivity. The catalyst has high stability in alkaline solutions and demonstrates a low overpotential (ɳ) of 155 mV@ 10 mA cm−2 with a Tafel slope of 34 mV dec−1. The current results show that the NS@SS nanocomposites are a potential candidate for the energy production materials and energy conversion system.