Porous Mo Modified Ni₃N/Ni₃S₂ Hetero Interfacing for Facile Sulfur Oxidation Mediated Green H₂ Production

Abstract Development of nano catalyst systems with extended durability toward sulfion oxidation reaction (SOR) offers an energy efficient route to green H₂ production and process harmful industrial waste to value added chemical. However, most of the reported nanocatalysts for the above operation suffer from sulfur poisoning leading to compromised durability. In this work, a Mo doped Ni₃N/Ni₃S₂ heterointerface is designed that exhibits superior SOR activity and adequate durability together by combining the advantages of transition metal nitrides and sulphides. The study further revealed that a certain amount of Mo doping is desirable for the resulting Mo@Ni₃N/Ni₃S₂ to exhibit optimized catalytic activity well supported by the density funtional theory (DFT) analysis. A current density (j_SOR) value of 100 mA cm⁻² is realized at low potential (V_RHE) of 0.36 V in 1.0 M Na₂S + 1.0 M NaOH solution. The heterostructure with a porous cactus like morphology possibly resisted S₈ deposition and the SOR durability beyond 100 h is witnessed without compromising the efficiency. The efficacy is reflected in the two‐electrode mode and j_SOR value of 100 mA cm⁻² is observed at a cell voltage value of 0.45 V in 1.0 M Na₂S + 1.0 M NaOH supporting the viability of the system.