Recent advances in design of hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts at high current density: A review

The electrolysis of water powered by renewable energy sources offers a promising method of "green hydrogen" production, which is considered to be at the heart of future carbon-neutral energy systems. In the past decades, researchers have reported a number of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts with activity comparable to that of commercial Pt/C, but most of them are tested within a small current density range, typically no more than 500 mA cm-2. To realize the industrial application of hydrogen production from water electrolysis, it is essential to develop high-efficiency HER electrocatalysts at high current density (HCD >= 500 mA cm-2). Nevertheless, it remains challenging and significant to rational design HCD electrocatalysts for HER. In this paper, the design strategy of HCD electrocatalysts is discussed, and some HCD electrocatalysts for HER are reviewed in seven categories (alloy, metal oxide, metal hydroxide, metal sulfide/selenide, metal nitride, metal phosphide and other derived electrocatalysts). At the end of this article, we also propose some viewpoints and prospects for the future development and research directions of HCD electrocatalysts for HER. (c) 2024, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.