Chapter 14: Carbon-based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production

The pursuit of efficient solutions for the production and utilization of clean and sustainable hydrogen energy has garnered significant interest. In pursuit of this objective, a viable and auspicious strategy involves the utilization of water electrolysis as a means of generating hydrogen. Currently, the most efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are platinum group metals, which exhibit a low overpotential and can generate high cathodic current densities. Nevertheless, the exorbitant expense and limited availability significantly constrain their widespread implementation. Recent research has demonstrated the synthesis of transition metal compounds as efficient catalysts for the HER, serving as viable alternatives to Pt electrocatalysts. Nevertheless, up until now, the development of HER catalysts that exhibit high activity and minimal overpotential using readily available and affordable materials has proven to be a significant problem. In recent times, there has been a surge of interest among researchers due to the emergence of noteworthy advancements in carbon-based electrocatalysts that exhibit a low overpotential towards the HER. The catalytic efficiency of carbon-based catalysts can be augmented through the incorporation of transition metal nanoparticles as a principal component and the introduction of non-metal elements into the carbon framework. This strategy allows for the manipulation of the electronic state density of carbon, leading to the creation of novel active sites that facilitate the process of HER.