Hydrogen evolution reaction on copper: Promoting water dissociation by tuning the surface oxophilicity

Journal Article · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Electrochemistry Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2019.01.006· OSTI ID:1490557

Farinazzo Bergamo Dias Martins, Pedro ; Papa Lopes, Pietro ; Ticianelli, Edson A. ; Stamenkovic, Vojislav R.; Markovic, Nenad M.; Strmcnik, Dusan

In order to probe the hydroxyl (OHad) adsorption energy as one of the possible descriptors for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media, we performed studies on polycrystalline copper (Cu(Poly)), a well known poor catalyst for HER. By employing three different preparation methods for Cu(Poly), we were able to establish links between surface oxidation extent, oxophilicity, hydrophilicity and their catalytic activity for the HER. Ultimately, we propose that the formation of Cu(I)-OH_ad---OH₂ activated complex is essential for lowering the energy barrier for water dissociation, which leads to higher activity for the HER in alkaline media.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1490557
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1494681
• Journal Information: Electrochemistry Communications, Journal Name: Electrochemistry Communications Vol. 100 Journal Issue: C; ISSN 1388-2481
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: Netherlands
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
copper
electrocatalysis
hydrogen evolution reaction
structure-function relationships
surface science