Constructing Self-Supported electrode with superhydrophilicity and strong bubble escape ability surface for hydrogen evolution

The superhydrophilicity of the self-supported electrode surface and the bubble escape behavior at the interface have important effects on efficient hydrogen production. Herein, we fabricated self-supported electrodes with different structures based on carbon cloth (CC), consisting of Ni(OH)2 nanosheets (Ni(OH)2/CC), Ni nanoparticles (Ni/CC), and metal Ni encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (Ni@CNTs/CC), respectively. Among them, Ni@CNTs/CC shows the lowest overpotential of 190.1 mV at -10 mA cm-2 toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) process. Ni@CNTs/CC exhibits an extremely low contact angle of 0 degrees, demonstrating its superhydrophilicity nature. Moreover, the large contact angle (153 degrees) and small dynamic bubble size (101 mu m) at the Ni@CNTs/CC/electrolyte interface suggest a strong bubble escape ability.