Platinum Single Atoms Supported on Nanoarray-Structured Nitrogen-Doped Graphite Foil with Enhanced Catalytic Performance for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Platinum-based single-atom catalysts (SACs) are among the most promising candidates for the practical applications of electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but their catalytic efficiency remains to be further enhanced. Herein, a welldesigned nanoarray-structured nitrogen-doped graphite foil (NNGF) substrate is introduced to support Pt SACs in Pt−N 4 construction (Pt 1 /NNGF) for HER. Within NNGF, the constructed nanoarray-structured surficial layer for supporting Pt SACs could enhance the exposure of active sites to the electrolyte and improve the reaction and diffusion kinetics; meanwhile, the retained graphite structures in bulk NNGF provide not only the required electrical conductivity but also the mechanical stability and flexibility. Because of such double-layer structures of NNGF, stable Pt−N 4 construction, and binder-free advantages, the Pt 1 / NNGF electrode exhibits a low overpotential of 0.023 V at 10 mA cm −2 and a small Tafel slope of 29.1 mV dec −1 as well as an excellent long-term durability.

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

“…[ 27 ] The other paired peaks located at 73.1 and 76.7 eV represent the Pt 2+ species. [ 28 ] Pt 2+ may be ascribed to oxidation when exposed to air and Pt 0 is the dominant chemical state on the copper surface. Both Pt and Pt 2+ peaks have almost no changes after the chronoamperometry test, indicating its stable chemical environment on Cu foams.…”

Engineering transition metal catalysts for large-current-density water splitting

“…The reaction is then followed either by the Heyrovsky step (M-H ads couples with another proton accompanied by another electron transfer to form molecular hydrogen) or by the Tafel step (combination of two M-H ads to form molecular hydrogen). [49][50][51][52][53][54][55] 3. Features of TMCs for largecurrent-density water splitting…”

Recent developments of nanocarbon based supports for PEMFCs electrocatalysts

“…However, due to the high surface energy, isolated Pt single atoms are unstable and prone to agglomeration, thus exhib- iting poor stability [127,128]. To address this issue, directly depositing Pt single atoms on the NC support may be a good solution to inhibit Pt SACs agglomeration [129][130][131][132]. Wu et al [127] prepared an atom-dispersed Pt SAC (Pt/NMC-LT) on a NMC support by a one-pot synthesis method at -40 °C and found that it exhibited better hydrogen evolution reaction activity and stability than Pt/C with no obvious change in current density after 5000 ADT cycles.…”