Small and well-dispersed Cu nanoparticles on carbon nanofibers: Self-supported electrode materials for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

In this study, a facile and effective approach was demonstrated for designing and preparing small Cu nanoparticles (NPs) densely and uniformly distributed on carbon nanofibers (CNFs). Self-supported hybrid CuNPs/CNFs with three-dimensional (3D) architectures were prepared via electrospinning and thermal reduction processes. The hybrid CuNPs/CNFs were directly used as electrodes for an electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and they exhibited excellent activity, with a low onset potential of only 61 mV, an overpotential of 200 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope (152 mV dec−1) and a long-term stability in acidic electrolyte. The 3D self-supported architecture exhibited a high conductivity, a large specific surface area and a high porosity, all of which are beneficial for the access of electrolyte for the CuNPs and the release of the formed H2, thereby reducing the overpotentials and accelerating the electrode kinetics. This work demonstrates that CuNPs/CNFs are promising candidates for the substitution of noble metal Pt-based materials in producing the HER from water.