LAUSR

Developing nonprecious-metal based catalysts with highly active and stable performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in neutral media is crucial points for realizing low-carbon economy because their practical use typically suffers from the slow kinetics. Herein, we developed S-doped MoO3 nanosheets toward neutral HER, fabricated by a versatile solvothermal and subsequently sulfuration processes. The obtained catalyst exhibits a small overpotential of 106 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M phosphate buffered saline, overwhelming most of recently reported catalysts. Meantime, it shows no notable deactivation after more than 60 h continuous electrolysis and 50 000 cycling tests. More importantly, the catalyst also can be applied in buffered seawater for electrocatalyzing HER, requiring 262 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and maintaining over 60 h. These findings open a new route for designing MoO3-based catalysts for neutral hydrogen production.