Robust self-supporting MoS₂@Ni₂B-GO/CNT electrode for enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic medium

Molybdenum sulphide (2D-MoS₂) promises great potential as a hydrogen evolution (HER) catalyst, especially, when combined with conductive carbon supports like graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNT). However, the hydrophobic nature of these carbon supports limits the catalytic potential of MoS₂. To overcome this, we introduced hydrophilic Nickel Boride (Ni₂B) into GO/CNT electrodes (Ni₂B-GO/CNT), enhancing wettability (Contact angle-25.3°) and HER activity. By hydrothermally depositing MoS₂ onto the hydrophilic Ni₂B-GO/CNT electrode, we fabricated a self-supporting MoS₂@Ni₂B-GO/CNT electrode. The MoS₂ deposition led to the formation of MoS₂@Ni₂B-GO/CNT heterostructure with multiple interfaces, favoring interfacial electronic redistribution (XPS) to significantly improve the HER activity. Thus, the proposed MoS₂@Ni₂B-GO/CNT electrode exhibited an excellent durability of 100 h (97%) and an overpotential of 224 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² in acidic medium.