Temperature Effect on Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at Au Electrode

Abstract

The temperature dependence of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at a quasi-single crystalline gold electrode in both 0.1 mol/L HClO4 and 0.1 mol/L KOH solutions was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. HER current displays a clear increase with reaction overpotential (η) and temperature from 278–333 K. In 0.1 mol/L HClO4 the Tafel slopes are found to increases slightly with temperature from 118 mV/dec to 146 mV/dec, while in 0.1 mol/L KOH it is ca. 153±15 mV/dec without clear temperature-dependent trend. The apparent activation energy (Ea) for HER at equilibrium potential is ca. 48 and 34 kJ/mol in 0.1 mol/L HClO4 and 0.1 mol/L KOH, respectively. In acid solution, Ea decreases with increase in η, from Ea=37 kJ/mol (η=0.2 V) to 30 kJ/mol (η=0.35 V). In contrast, in 0.1 mol/L KOH, Ea does not show obvious change with η. The pre-exponential factor (A) in 0.1 mol/L HClO4 is ca. 1 order higher than that in 0.1 mol/L KOH. Toward more negative potential, in 0.1 mol/L HClO4 A changes little with potential, while in 0.1 mol/L KOH it displays a monotonic increase with η. The change trends of the potential-dependent kinetic parameters for HER at Au electrode in 0.1 mol/L HClO4 and that in 0.1 mol/L KOH are discussed.