Palladium oxide decorated transition metal nitride as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Development of an efficient electrocatalyst towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a very significant and challenging task for renewable energy. Herein, we have rationally designed and successfully prepared palladium oxide decorated first row transition metal nitrides (Mn3N2 and Cu3N) by facile hydrothermal route followed by calcinations and studied their electrocatalytic activity towards HER in acidic medium. The box shaped Mn3N2/PdO exhibits better electrocatalytic performance than Cu3N/PdO composite. The electrocatalyst Mn3N2/PdO exhibits HER activity with low overpotential (44.6 mV vs. RHE) to attain current density 10 mA/cm(2) as well as small Tafel slope (49.6 mV/decade). The excellent HER activity of Mn3N2/PdO could be attributed to its distinct box shape structure, large BET surface area, high ECSA value, small charge resistance, more number of active sites, and metallic electrical conductivity. Moreover, Mn3N2/PdO also exhibits long-term stability without affecting the morphology and composition. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.