Communication
Dalton Transactions
The high mobility of electrons in Weyl semimetals ensures
that such motion can persist for a considerable time before
they are scattered (i.e., long scattering time). These states are
expected to be readily available for catalytic processes, leading
to an increase in the HER activity under a magnetic field.
However, further understanding of the mechanism of catalytic
activity under a magnetic field and the manner in which it is
related to the Berry curvature of topological Weyl semimetals
are important topics for future research.
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Conclusions
We observed a large enhancement in the hydrogen evolution
catalytic activity of nonmagnetic Weyl semimetals of the NbP
family upon the application of a magnetic field. The magnetic
field almost doubled the HER activity of NbP; in addition, sig-
nificant increases in the HER activity were also noted for other
catalysts of this family. Such large variations in the catalytic
activity of these semimetals indicate a drastic evolution of the
bulk and surface electronic properties upon the application of
a magnetic field, which is also reflected as a large MR effect at
room temperature. The slight application of a magnetic field
can alter the rate of the reaction significantly. It would be
interesting to study the effect on catalysis by varying the mag-
netic field and understanding the exact mechanism via in situ
experiments. Manipulation of electronic properties of catalysts
may serve as an alternative route to change the rate of the reac-
tion without affecting the reaction pathway which can be
further explored for other chemical reactions.
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Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts to declare.
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Rev. Condens. Matter Phys., 2017, 8, 289–309.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the ERC Advanced
Grant No. 742068 ‘TOPMAT’. Dr U. Burkhardt for the SEM
measurements. Open Access funding provided by the Max
Planck Society.
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