Tunable built-in electric field of homologous heterojunction regulated by nitrogen doped carbon to enhance water splitting
image: Nitrogen-doped carbon optimizes the built-in electric field of Ni3S2-MoS2, thereby facilitating water dissociation and hydroxyl adsorption for hydrogen evolution reaction and during oxygen evolution, respectively.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
As fossil fuel crises and greenhouse gas emissions intensify, alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen production has gained attention as a green and sustainable energy conversion technology. However, high energy barriers for water dissociation in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and slow hydroxyl adsorption kinetics in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) significantly limit electrolysis efficiency. Traditional heterojunction catalysts, while promoting charge transfer via interfacial electric fields, suffer from issues like field saturation, severe lattice mismatch, and corrosion of active sites. Constructing highly stable heterojunction catalysts with tunable electric fields is the key to overcoming water splitting performance bottlenecks.
Therefore, a research team led by Ying Yang from the College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, and Lirong Zheng from the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made a significant breakthrough in this field. They successfully constructed a Ni3S2-MoS2 heterojunction catalyst with a tunable BEF regulated by NC, demonstrating excellent performance in both HER and OER. The study addresses the critical challenge of improving water splitting efficiency for hydrogen production. By developing a cost-effective and highly efficient catalyst, the research contributes to the global effort of transitioning to sustainable energy systems. Extensive material characterization confirmed the successful integration of NC into the Ni3S2-MoS2 heterojunction. Theoretical calculations provided insights into the enhanced catalytic mechanisms, revealing that the N-doped MoS2 lattice significantly augmented the BEF, facilitating rapid electron transfer and lowering energy barriers for key reaction steps. Future research will focus on further optimizing the catalyst design and exploring its potential applications in industrial-scale hydrogen production. The team aims to scale up the synthesis process and integrate the catalyst into functional electrolyzer systems.
The team published this research in Nano Research on April 30, 2025.
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB1105100), the National Science Foundation of China (U2330105), and the funding from Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum, Beijing (24620188JC005).
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.