High-performance tungsten carbide electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction

High charge transport efficiency and large specific surface are two critical factors for the hydrogen evolution reaction. In this work, we report a simple method to fabricate tungsten carbide (WC) on W foil through a carbonization reaction at high temperature. WC nanoparticles with high conductivity form chemical bonds with W foil, thereby significantly minimizing the contact resistance between the catalyst (WC) and electrode (W foil). As an outstanding hydrogen evolution cathode, the WC/W electrode exhibits high HER activity with overpotentials of 87 mV and 68 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH, respectively.