Synergetic Effects of Surface Active Sites on the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

ABSTRACT This work is devoted to the study of the improvement in electrocatalytic properties of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on electromodified or composite electrodes. This improvement cannot be explained by the classic dependence of log i_o on the electron configuration of the electrode. The effect of the electrode surface electromodification of single electrodes or of composite materials on the basic parameters in electrocatalysis was analyzed. The improvement in the electrocatalytic properties of the HER on electromodified electrodes or on composite materials was attributed to the synergetic effects of surface active sites of these electrodes. How the modified, electromodified, or composite electrodes could be more efficient than the single materials in electrocatalysis is discussed.