Host dependent electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution of Ni/TiO2 composites

Abstract

Ni/TiO₂ as a classic system has been widely studied in the traditional catalysis field including the water-gas shift reaction and selective oxidation/hydrogenation. However, in terms of the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), there is still a lack of systematic research on the actual synergistic promotion effect on the performance, and the influence of the host material on the electronic interaction between Ni and TiO₂ is still unclear. Herein, we synthesized a series of Ni/TiO₂ composites with different forms and tested the relevant HER performance. The results show that Ni/TiO₂ exhibits much better HER performance than pure Ni and there is one type of electronic interaction between Ni and TiO₂ in the composite with different forms, that is, electrons transfer from Ni to TiO₂. However, the interaction strength is host dependent, and the composite with Ni as the host displays the strongest interaction, and therefore the best HER performance (46 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²).