Tungsten carbide electrocatalysts prepared from metallic tungsten nanoparticles for efficient hydrogen evolution

•W nanoparticles were synthesized via a wet-chemistry method.•Spin-coated of W nanoparticles onto graphite substrates yielded uniform W films.•Heat treatment of W films at high temperature allowed the preparation of textured tungsten carbide films.•The tungsten carbide films were used as catalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution via water electrolysis.