Magnesium-Mediated Charge Redistribution of Molybdenum Site for Enhanced Alkaline Hydrogen Production

The production of hydrogen through the electrochemical splitting of water stands out as a promising method. Molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) serves as an effective alternative to noble metal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, its application for large-scale use remains limited. This work adopts a simple one-step sintering process to introduce nonprecious metal heteroatoms (Mg) for modulating the electronic structure of molybdenum carbide (Mg–Mo2C), which effectively creates additional active sites due to the charge transfer between Mo sites and Mg dopant; thus, the kinetics of HER improves significantly. Notably, the synthesized Mg–Mo2C achieved a current density of 10 mA cm–2 with a low overpotential of 111 mV and a small Tafel slope of 68.23 mV dec–1 and demonstrated excellent stability in 1 M KOH. This research provides insights into the rational design of effective and cost-efficient electrocatalysts in energy storage and conversion applications.