Tungsten nitride nanorods array grown on carbon cloth as an efficient hydrogen evolution cathode at all pH values

It is highly desired but still remains a challenging task to develop efficient non-noble-metal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts operating efficiently under all pH conditions. In this paper, tungsten nitride nanorods array was developed on carbon cloth (WN NA/CC) through nitridation of corresponding WO3 NA/CC precursor with NH3 as an efficient 3D hydrogen evolution cathode with strong durability in acidic solutions. It needs overpotential of 198 mV to achieve current density of 10 mA cm(-2) and it maintains its catalytic activity for at least 60 h. This electrode also performs well under both neutral and alkaline conditions. In addition, this electrode shows nearly 100% Faradaic efficiency at all pH values. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.