The Interrelated Effect of Cations and Electrolyte pH on the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Gold Electrodes in Alkaline Media

). Moreover, we show that increasing electrolyte pH (pH 10 to pH 13) tunes the local field strength, which in turn indirectly enhances the activity of HER by tuning the near-surface cation concentration. Interestingly, a too high near-surface cation concentration (at high pH and high cation concentration) leads to a lowering of the HER activity, which we ascribe to a blockage of the surface by near-surface cations.