Highly Active Electrocatalyst based on Ultra-low Loading of Ruthenium Supported on Titanium Carbide for Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

With the emerging importance of catalysts for water electrolysis, developing efficient and inexpensive electrocatalysts for water electrolysis plays a vital role in renewable hydrogen energy technology. In this study, a 1nm thickness of TiC-supported Ru catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has been successfully fabricated using an electron (E)-beam evaporator and thermal decomposition of gaseous CH4 in a furnace. The prepared Ru/TiC catalyst exhibited an outstanding performance for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction with an overpotential of 55 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the outstanding HER performance of Ru/TiC was attributed to the high surface area of the support and the metal-support interaction.