Yttrium-doped NiMo-MoO2 heterostructure electrocatalysts for hydrogen production from alkaline seawater

Shujie Liu, Zhiguo Zhang, Kamran Dastafkan, Yan Shen (ciac_sheny@mail.hust.edu.cn), Chuan Zhao (chuan.zhao@unsw.edu.au) and Mingkui Wang (mingkui.wang@mail.hust.edu.cn)
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Shujie Liu: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Zhiguo Zhang: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Kamran Dastafkan: University of New South Wales
Yan Shen: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Chuan Zhao: University of New South Wales
Mingkui Wang: Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Active and stable electrocatalysts are essential for hydrogen production from alkaline water electrolysis. However, precisely controlling the interaction between electrocatalysts and reaction intermediates (H2O*, H*, and *OH) remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate an yttrium-doped NiMo-MoO2 heterogenous electrocatalyst that efficiently promotes water dissociation and accelerates the intermediate adsorption/desorption dynamics in alkaline electrolytes. Introducing yttrium into the NiMo/MoO2 heterostructure induces lattice expansion and optimizes the d-band center of NiMo alloy component, enhancing water dissociation and H* desorption. Yttrium doping also increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies in MoO2−x, which in turn accelerates the charge kinetics and the swift evacuation of *OH intermediates from the active sites. Consequently, the Y-NiMo/MoO2−x heterostructure exhibits notable performance by requiring only 189 and 220 mV overpotentials to achieve current density of 2.0 A cm−2 in alkaline water and seawater, respectively. This work provides a strategy to modulate heterostructure catalysts for scalable, economically viable hydrogen production from low-quality waters.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-55856-4

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