Hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media on single-crystalline titanium nitride nanowires as an efficient non-noble metal electrocatalyst

Abstract

Single-crystalline titanium nitride nanowires (TiN NWs) have been directly synthesized by a novel chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and used as efficient catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for the first time. Electrochemical tests reveal good HER performance of TiN NWs, with a low overpotential of 92 mV at 1 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 54 mV dec⁻¹. After 20 000 cycles and 100 h durability test also in acidic media, the current density remains nearly unchanged, revealing the good chemical stability of the as-synthesized TiN NWs for HER.