Synergistic coupling of NiCoS nanorods with NiCo-LDH nanosheets towards highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media

•NiCo-LDH decorated NiCoS nanorods with hierarchical structure has been prepared.•The moderate amount of NiCo-LDH by electrodeposition could enhance the activity.•The synergistic effect of the composite contribute to the enhanced performance. As the key step in the overall water splitting system, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has become one of the main methods of hydrogen production in industrial applications. Here, through the strong coupling between NiCo-LDH nanosheets and NiCoS nanorods, the three-dimensional heterogeneous structure formed by the composite can provide a large catalytic specific surface area. The modification of LDH lamellar will provide abundant edge active sites and enhance its structural stability. The synergistic effect of NiCo-LDH and NiCoS can optimize the electronic structure and promote mass transfer and water cracking. Benefiting from the above points, the NiCoS@NiCo-LDH/NF obtained showed the significant boost in HER process. It only required 99 mV to reach current density of 10 mA·cm−2 and maintained excellent durability for 24 h for HER, which proved NiCoS@NiCo-LDH/NF was a cost-free, high-efficient and outstandingly stable HER catalyst in basic solution.