Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production Using Transition Metal Nitrides

Transition metal nitrides (TMNs) have emerged as a class of non-noble, earth-abundant materials with unique electronic structures, offering high electrical conductivity, robust chemical stability and tunable surface properties. In electrocatalytic hydrogen production, TMNs act as active electrodes in water-splitting systems, particularly in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The strong metal–nitrogen bonds confer corrosion resistance under acidic and alkaline conditions, while the d-orbital characteristics of transition metals facilitate optimal binding of hydrogen intermediates. Synthetic strategies, including ammonolysis, carbothermal reduction and heteroatom doping, enable control over phase composition, morphology and defect density, yielding nanoparticles, nanosheets and quantum dots with abundant catalytic sites. Recent advances demonstrate that strategies such as heterostructure engineering, quantum-dot decoration and precise control of nitrogen occupancy can dramatically lower overpotentials, reduce Tafel slopes and enhance long-term stability. These developments pave the way for cost-effective, scalable hydrogen generation technologies that can integrate with renewable energy sources, underscoring the global drive towards sustainable fuel pathways.

Research from Nature Portfolio

An air-stable molybdenum nitride catalyst was synthesised via a multi-step solid-state route with uniform precursor dispersion. Phosphorus doping of the Mo nitride achieved enhanced HER performance in acidic media, with overpotentials of around 105 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a small Tafel slope of 43 mV dec⁻¹. The study revealed that phosphorus incorporation modulates electronic structure and surface hydrophilicity, suppressing oxidation of active sites and delivering robust catalytic activity under practical device conditions.

Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production Using Transition Metal Nitrides publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic hydrogen production using transition metal nitrides across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER): The electrochemical process of reducing protons to hydrogen gas at a cathode during water splitting.

Overpotential: The additional potential beyond the thermodynamic requirement needed to drive an electrochemical reaction at a given rate.

Tafel slope: A parameter describing the relationship between overpotential and current density, indicative of reaction kinetics.

Transition metal nitride (TMN): A compound of nitrogen with a transition metal, featuring high conductivity and chemical stability.

Heterostructure: An interface between two distinct materials or phases that can enhance charge transfer and catalytic activity.

Quantum dot: A nanoscale particle with discrete electronic states, offering high surface-to-volume ratio and tunable properties.

Nitrogen occupancy: The fraction of lattice sites occupied by nitrogen atoms, affecting electronic conductivity and stability.

References

1. Air-stable phosphorus-doped molybdenum nitride for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Communications Chemistry (2018).
2. Elucidating Catalytic Sites Governing the Performance toward the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Ternary Nitride Electrocatalysts. ACS Applied Energy Materials (2023).
3. In-plane heterostructured MoN/Mo2N nanosheets as high-efficiency electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. APL Materials (2023).
4. Elucidating the Effect of Nitrogen Occupancy on the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction for a Series of Titanium Oxynitride Electrocatalysts. ChemCatChem (2023).