PtNi Supported on ZIF-Derived Porous Carbon as a High-Efficiency Acidic Hydrogen Evolution Catalyst

Hydrogen production by water cracking is an important means to solve the energy crisis and environmental problems. Low-Pt-content electrocatalysts can keep better balance between activity and cost. In this paper, we propose a simple and effective synthesis method to synthesize a bimetallic porous nitrogen-doped carbon (BMNC)-supported ultrafine PtxNiy alloy hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst. BMNC is derived from a Zn-Co zeolite imidazolate skeleton (ZIFS) and can be used as a high-efficiency catalyst support for the HER in acidic solutions. The optimal sample Pt2Ni2/BMNC with a Pt content of 8.4 wt % shows superior performance with the lowest overpotential (eta(10) = 27 mV) and the smallest Tafel slope (17.7 mV dec(-1)), which is attributed to the merits of smaller charge transfer resistance, porous carbon support, and the alloy effect between Pt and Ni. After continuous working for 36 000 s at a voltage of -0.272 V, there is 10.6% decay of catalyst potential. We hope that this work can provide useful information to prepare efficient HER electrocatalysts.

Automated summary

In this paper, a simple and effective synthesis method for bimetallic porous nitrogen-doped carbon (BMNC)-supported ultrafine PtxNiy alloy hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst is proposed. The optimal sample with a Pt content of 8.4 wt % shows superior performance with the lowest overpotential and the smallest Tafel slope, attributed to smaller charge transfer resistance, porous carbon support, and the alloy effect between Pt and Ni. This work may provide useful information for preparing efficient HER electrocatalysts.