Hydrogen Evolution Enhancement over a Cobalt-Based Schottky Interface.

A proof-of-concept strategy for significant enhancement of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance of transition metals via construction of a metal/semiconductor Schottky junction is presented. The decoration of low-cost commercial TiO nanoparticles on the surface of microscale Co dendrites causes a significant charge transfer across the Co/TiO Schottky interface and enhances the local electron density at the Co surface, confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results and density functional theory calculations. The Co/TiO Schottky catalyst displays superior HER activity with a turnover frequency of 0.