Research on preparation of cathode materials for hydrogen evolution and their photo-electrochemical properties

In order to develop novel, low-cost and effective cathode electrodes for a photo-electrochemical hydrogen generation system, Pt–C was prepared by an impregnation method and Ag–Cu and Pt–Cu were synthesized by a metallic chemical displacement method. The morphology of the surfaces of the cathode electrodes was characterized by SEM. The catalytic hydrogen evolution property and stability of the electrodes were evaluated with cyclic accumulative hydrogen generation curves. The experimental results showed that hydrogen generation rates on Pt–C, Ag–Cu and Pt–Cu were 1.05, 0.94, and 0.94 times of that of conventional Pt foil cathode, respectively. Moreover, Pt–C and Ag–Cu exhibited excellent long term stability for hydrogen generation. Considering that the costs of Pt–C and Ag–Cu are much lower than that of Pt foil, they are good cathode materials to substitute for Pt foil in the photo-electrochemical hydrogen generation system.

► The cathode preparation processes were simple, flexible, and easy to scale up. ► The cathode materials possessed comparable catalytic activity to that of Pt. ► The loading of the precious metals on the cathodes was extremely low. ► The materials have a great potential to substitute for the conventional Pt foil.