Abstract
Hydrogen gas (H-2) is notified as a renewable energy carrier. It is wanted to discover a lowcost electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to substitute the high-cost Pt in electrolysis cell. Niobium electrocatalyst nominated to substitute noble materials for electrocatalytic H-2 production and its electrochemical manner was estimated in H2SO4 acid of various concentrations utilizing a steady-state polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influences of acid concentration, cathodic potential and temperature on the H-2 creation were examined. The outcomes display that HER on Nb electrode proceeds by the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism. EIS tests, under open circuit and under cathodic polarization, were performed and the fitting has been done utilizing a suggested model for the electrode/electrolyte interface. Apparent activation energies (E-a) were estimated to be ca. 10.5 kJ mol(-1) for the HER on Nb. Thus, Nb is a good electrocatalyst for the cathodic H-2 manufacturing. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.