Single Nanobubble Formation on Au Nanoelectrodes and Au@WS<sub>2</sub> Nanoelectrodes: Voltammetric Analysis and Electrocatalysis

Taking advantage of the extremely small size of the gold nanodisk electrode, the single hydrogen nanobubble generated on the surface of the nanoelectrode was studied to evaluate its hydrogen evolution performance. It was found that compared with the bare gold nanodisk electrode, the bubble formation potential of the gold nanodisk electrode modified with tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS2 QDs) on the surface was more positive, indicating that its hydrogen evolution activity was higher. Microdynamic model analysis shows that the average standard rate constant of the rate-determining step of the hydrogen evolution reaction of gold nanoelectrodes modified with WS2 QDs is approximately 12 times larger than that of gold nanoelectrodes. This work based on the formation of nanobubbles provides new ideas for the design and performance evaluation of hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts.