Heterojunction-Based Electron Donators to Stabilize and Activate Ultrafine Pt Nanoparticles for Efficient Hydrogen Atom Dissociation and Gas Evolution

Platinum (Pt) is the most effective bench-marked catalyst for producing renewable and clean hydrogen energy by electrochemical water splitting. There is demand for high HER catalytic activity to achieve efficient utilization and minimize the loading of Pt in catalysts. In this work, we significantly boost the HER mass activity of Pt nanoparticles in Pt-x/Co to 8.3 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C by using Co/NC heterojunctions as a heterogeneous version of electron donors. The highly coupled interfaces between Co/NC and Pt metal enrich the electron density of Pt nanoparticles to facilitate the adsorption of H+, the dissociation of Pt-H bonds and H-2 release, giving the lowest HER overpotential of 6.9 mV vs. RHE at 10 mA cm(-2) in acid among reported HER electrocatalysts. Given the easy scale-up synthesis due to the stabilization of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles by Co/NC solid ligands, Pt-x/Co can even be a promising substitute for commercial Pt/C for practical applications.

Automated summary

By utilizing Co/NC heterojunctions, the catalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles in water splitting can be significantly enhanced, resulting in the lowest HER overpotential in acid conditions, making it a potential substitute for commercial Pt/C in practical applications.