Abstrait

Recent Progress in Transition Metal Carbide Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Xinran Zhao, Feng-Xiang Yin, Xiaobo He and Biaohua Chen

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), performing as the cathode reaction of electrochemical water splitting, is an important green energy producing process. An increasing interest in transition metal carbides (TMCs) applied in HER has been aroused owing to their similarity in electronic structure to platinum (Pt). In this review, we mainly introduced the recent progress of the elements in group VIB (W, Mo, Cr) and their carbides applied in hydrogen evolution reaction. The structure designs, the catalytic activities and the pH adaptations were primarily investigated and compared. It was promising to obtain a Pt-like catalytic activity and an extraordinary stability in a wide pH range with the transition metal carbide. We also looked forward to the challenges in designing novel TMCs for electrochemical HER catalysis.