Version 1
: Received: 28 March 2024 / Approved: 29 March 2024 / Online: 29 March 2024 (10:01:45 CET)
How to cite:
Laghrissi, A.; Es-Souni, M. Oxygen Defects Containing TiN Films for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: A Robust Thin Film Electrocatalyst With Outstanding Performance. Preprints2024, 2024031821. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1821.v1
Laghrissi, A.; Es-Souni, M. Oxygen Defects Containing TiN Films for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: A Robust Thin Film Electrocatalyst With Outstanding Performance. Preprints 2024, 2024031821. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1821.v1
Laghrissi, A.; Es-Souni, M. Oxygen Defects Containing TiN Films for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: A Robust Thin Film Electrocatalyst With Outstanding Performance. Preprints2024, 2024031821. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1821.v1
APA Style
Laghrissi, A., & Es-Souni, M. (2024). Oxygen Defects Containing TiN Films for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: A Robust Thin Film Electrocatalyst With Outstanding Performance. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1821.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Laghrissi, A. and Mohammed Es-Souni. 2024 "Oxygen Defects Containing TiN Films for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: A Robust Thin Film Electrocatalyst With Outstanding Performance" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1821.v1
Abstract
Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of hydrogen adsorption on titanium nitride had previously shown that hydrogen may adsorb on both titanium and nitrogen sites with a moderate adsorption energy. Further, the diffusion barrier was also found to be low. These findings may qualify TiN, a versatile multifunctional material with electronic conductivity, as electrode material for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This was the main impetus of this work which aims to experimentally and theoretically investigate the electrocatalytic properties of TiN-layers that were processed on Ti substrate using reactive ion sputtering. The properties are discussed focusing on the role of oxygen defects introduced during the sputtering process on the HER. Based on DFT calculations, it is shown that these oxygen defects alter the electronic environment of the Ti atoms which entails a low hydrogen adsorption energy in the range of -0.1 eV; this leads to HER performances that match those of Pt-NPs in acidic media. When a few nanometr thick layer of Pd-NPs is sputtered on-top of the TiN-layer, the performance is drastically reduced. This is interpreted in terms of oxygen defects being scavenged by the Pd-NPs near the surface which is thought to reduce the hydrogen adsorption sites.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
