Facile Fabrication of Robust Hydrogen Evolution Electrodes under High Current Densities via Pt@Cu Interactions

Abstract

Durable and efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts that can satisfy industrial requirements need to be developed. Platinum (Pt)-based catalysts represent the benchmark performance but are less studied for HER under high current densities in neutral electrolytes due to their high cost, poor stability, and extra water dissociation step. Here a facile and low-temperature synthesis for constructing "blackberry-shaped" Pt nanocrystals on copper (Cu) foams with low loading as self-standing electrodes for HER in neutral media is proposed. Optimized hydrogen adsorption free energy and robust interaction induced by charge density exchange between Pt and Cu ensure the efficient and robust HER, especially under high current densities, which are demonstrated from both experimental and theoretical approaches. The electrode exhibits small overpotentials of 35 and 438 mV to reach current densities of -10 and -1000 mA cm -2 , respectively. Meanwhile the electrode illustrates outstanding stability during chronoamperometry measurement under high current densities (-100 to -400 mA cm -2 ) and 1000 cycles linear sweep voltammetry tests reaching -1000 mA cm -2 . This study provides new design strategies for self-standing electrocatalysts by fabricating robust metalmetal interactions between active materials and current collectors, thus facilitating the stable function of electrodes for HER under technologically relevant high current densities.

Revealing and magnifying interfacial effects between ruthenium and carbon supports for efficient hydrogen evolution

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] In practice, room-temperature water electrolysis can be carried out in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes, where platinum-based nanoparticles generally serve as the catalysts of choice. [7][8][9][10] However, the high cost, scarcity, and sluggish kinetics (about two orders of magnitude lower in alkaline electrolytes than that in acid) of platinum-based materials have greatly hampered the widespread application of electrochemical water splitting technology. 11 Thus, developing viable alternatives that are of low cost and high performance for the HER in alkaline electrolytes is of both fundamental and technological signicance.…”

Substitutional Doping Engineering toward W2N Nanorod for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at High Current Density

“…The world’s main energy is composed of fossil energy; however, there is an increasing awareness of the shortage of fossil energy. In the process of using fossil energy, CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , PM2.5, and other byproducts will be produced, which not only damage human health but also endanger the natural environment on which human beings depend. , A solution to “green hydrogen” is proposed to generate hydrogen by electrolytic water decomposition to meet the needs of human industrial development with the goal of environmental friendliness. , However, most of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts are founded on platinum group metals (PGMs). − Their global rareness and valuableness greatly restrict the electrolysis of water decomposition of large-scale industrial development. , Therefore, it is very important to develop non-noble metal catalysts for water electrolysis with a high current density.…”

Construction of MnxCoyO4/Ti electrocatalysts for efficient bifunctional water splitting

“…Mn x Co y O 4 along the y -axis represents the length of the lamellae. 33 Fig. S1† shows the adsorption isotherm, and the illustration shows the pore size distribution of each sample.…”

“…The Ti mesh as a substrate for an electrocatalyst has obvious advantages of low cost, good electric conductivity, 31,32 poor electrochemical activity for clean background and the ability to load more catalysts than conventional electrodes. 33,34 Electrochemical performance tests show that the HER and OER overpotentials of 168 and 229 mV are required to obtain a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1 M KOH solution. The corresponding Tafel slopes are 174 and 98 mV dec −1 , respectively.…”