Chapter 4 - The application of plasma technology in activating the hydrogen evolution performance of nanostructured electrocatalysts

Abstract

Electrochemical water splitting is a promising technology to produce hydrogen. It involves two half reactions: the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). For HER, Pt-based electrocatalysts are the state-of-the-art catalysts. However, high cost and low abundance restrict their large-scale application. In this regard, transition metal-based nanostructured materials, such as metal sulfides, phosphides, carbides, and oxides/hydroxides with large surface areas have been developed to replace Pt-based catalysts. However, their HER activities are still inferior to Pt-based catalysts. Recently, plasma technology has been employed to improve the HER activity of these materials by generating defects, doping heteroatoms, and constructing heterostructures. In this Chapter, we will first give a brief overview of water splitting, HER, and HER electrocatalysts. Then, we will summarize the recent advances on application of plasma technology in activating the HER performance of nanostructured metal sulfides, phosphides, carbides, and oxides/hydroxides. Finally, a perspective on this field will be presented.