Hydrogen Overvoltage on Rhenium and Niobium Electrodes

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Abstract
Polarization curves of the hydrogen evolution reaction are presented for rhenium and niobium electrodes in dilute hydrochloric acid solutions as a function of temperature. The Tafel reaction is the rate‐determining step in the hydrogen evolution reaction on rhenium. The behavior of niobium electrodes is much more complicated. The presence of the passive oxide layer on niobium produces an ohmic contribution to the total overvoltage. The corrected activation‐overvoltage curves for niobium show a change of Tafel slope which is consistent with a Volmer‐Tafel mechanism if certain assumptions are made about the distribution of potential at the interface. Activation energies of the hydrogen reaction are computed for both rhenium and niobium electrodes.

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