Ni nanorods with various morphologies on the surface of Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets accelerate alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Under the background of sustainable energy development, the development of efficient, stable and low-cost electrocatalysts to improve electrochemical performance has become a research hotspot in the field of energy conversion. In this work, upright, one-fold and oblique Ni nanorods were designed and grown on Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanosheets via glancing angle deposition technique of physical vapor deposition. For the hydrogen evolution reaction, the composite Ti 3 C 2 T x @upright exhibited a low overpotential of only 131 mV@10 mA/cm 2 , along with excellent 24 h stability in 1 M KOH. Its excellent performance is mainly attributed to the high porosity of the upright nanorods, the fast electron transport channels provided by Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene, and the stable interface structure. This research provides new ideas for constructing high-performance electrocatalytic catalysts and achieving efficient electrocatalytic conversion in sustainable energy systems.