Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

Crystalline Ni3S2 Nanorods Tuned by Low-Crystalline NiCoSx with Built-In Electric Field for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02151-6
Neng Chen
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China
Jun He
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China
Hongqiang Li
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China
Dedong Jia
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China
Haoran Qian
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China
Huan Pang
Institute of Innovation Materials and Energy, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, People’s Republic of China
Jieshan Qiu
College of Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Yongfeng Li
State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, People’s Republic of China
Xiaojun He
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Coal Clean Conversion and Low Carbon Utilization, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Efficient Conversion and Solid‑State Storage of Hydrogen & Electricity, Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resources Recycling, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, Anhui 243002, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xiaojun He

xjhe@ahut.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 304

Abstract

Efficient overall water splitting (OWS) technology has been highly demanded across the world, of which the key is the development of active and stable electrocatalysts for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). Herein, novel crystalline Ni3S2 nanorods tuned by low-crystalline NiCoSx (NiCoSx Ni3S2) are synthesized via an ion-exchange strategy. The built-in electric field at the heterogeneous interface driven by work function difference, facilitates rapid electron transfer from Ni3S2 to NiCoSx via a robust Ni–S–Co bond bridge. This synergistic combination of the conductive crystalline core and low-crystalline shell optimizes the d-band center, balancing intermediate adsorption/desorption, speeding up water dissociation, enhancing hydrogen adsorption/desorption for HER, and lowering the energy barrier for OER, ultimately boosting OWS efficiency. The defect-rich, low-crystalline NiCoSx shell, bonded to the crystalline core via Ni–S–Co bonds, serves as a protective armor, enabling dynamic reconstruction into NiCoOOH and suppresses sulfide leaching, ensuring catalytic stability. The optimized NiCoSx Ni3S2 achieves low HER/OER overpotentials of 346/520 mV 1000 mA cm−2, evidenced by an ultralow cell voltage of 2.10 V 1000 mA cm−2 for OWS and long-term durability up to 400 h. The work paves a novel way to fabricate sulfur-based electrocatalysts with high yet balanced activity and stability for OWS via an interface engineering strategy.


Highlights:
1 Low-crystalline NiCoSx-armored Ni3S2 nanorod heterostructure inhibits sulfide loss.
2 Built-in electric field effect induced by work function accelerates electron transfer.
3 The NiCoSx Ni3S2/NF exhibits superior hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions activity and stability.

Keywords

NiCoSx@Ni3S2 Low-crystalline tuned crystalline heterostructure Built-in electric field Work function Water splitting
Chen, Neng, Jun He, Hongqiang Li, Dedong Jia, Haoran Qian, Huan Pang, Jieshan Qiu, Yongfeng Li, and Xiaojun He. 2026. “Crystalline Ni3S2 Nanorods Tuned by Low-Crystalline NiCoSx With Built-In Electric Field for Efficient Overall Water Splitting”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (March):304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02151-6.
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