Ultra‐Low Pt Doping and Pt–Ni Pair Sites in Amorphous/Crystalline Interfacial Electrocatalyst Enable Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

Noble metal doping can achieve an increase in mass activity (MA) without sacrificing catalysis efficiency and stability, so that alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance of the catalyst can be optimized to the maximum degree. However, its excessively large ionic radius makes it difficult to achieve either interstitial doping or substitutional doping under mild conditions. Herein, a hierarchical nanostructured electrocatalyst with enriched amorphous/crystalline interfaces for high‐efficiency alkaline HER is reported, which is composed of amorphous/crystalline (Co, Ni)11(HPO3)8(OH)6 homogeneous hierarchical structure with an ultra‐low doped Pt (Pt‐a/c‐NiHPi). Benefiting from the structural flexibility of the amorphous component, extremely low Pt (0.21 wt.%, totally 3.31 µg Pt on 1 cm−2 NF) are stably doped on it via a simple two‐phase hydrothermal method. The DFT calculations show that due to the strongly electron transfer between the crystalline/amorphous components at the interfaces, electrons finally concentrate toward Pt and Ni in the amorphous components, thus the electrocatalyst has near‐optimal energy barriers and adsorption energy for H2O* and H*. With the above benefits, the obtained catalyst exhibits an exceptionally high MA (39.1 mA µg−1Pt) at 70 mV, which is almost the highest level among the reported Pt‐based electrocatalysts for alkaline HER.

Rapid synthesis of active Pt single atoms and Ru clusters on carbon black via a highly efficient microwave strategy for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline media

“…5a–c, the HER rate under alkaline conditions is not solely determined by Δ G H* , but is also influenced by other factors such as the activation energy for hydrolysis dissociation. 107,108 This leads to a significant decrease in the hydrogen evolution activity of Pt 1 @C, which exhibits poor water dissociation ability, under alkaline conditions ( η 10 : 82.7 mV, Tafel slope: 67.6 mV dec −1 ) compared to acidity ( η 10 : 17.1 mV, Tafel slope: 22.3 mV dec −1 ). By incorporating Ru x clusters, the Pt 1 Ru x @C catalyst achieves coordination between Pt 1 atoms and Ru x clusters, enabling the catalyst to possess appropriate H binding energy and a low energy barrier for hydrolysis.…”

Interfacial Design of Ti3C2Tx MXene/Graphene Heterostructures Boosted Ru Nanoclusters with High Activity Toward Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…Meanwhile, Ru‐E‐MXene/rGA shows a typical Volmer–Tafel reaction mechanism, including the Tafel reaction as a rate‐determining step. [ 29 ] To investigate the active surface area of Ru‐E‐MXene/rGA, the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) was determined by the double‐layer capacitances ( C dl ), which could be calculated by CV curves in the non‐faradic region (Figure S10 and Table S3 , Supporting Information). At the scan rate from 5 to 50 mV s −1 , the C dl values are calculated to 44.1, 40.4, 26.4, 23.3, and 10.9 mF cm −2 for Ru‐E‐MXene/rGA, Ru‐E‐MXene, Ru‐rGA, Ru‐MXene and Ru/C in Figure 3d .…”

Structural Modulation through Se Vacancies on Zn-Doped NiSe2 Nanoparticles for Expediting Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…The water electrolysis can be made extensive and effective for real-time applications upon designing enormously active, largely stable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts. 9,10 To date, platinum-based materials are well recognized as the suitable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER), 11,12 which indeed suffer due to the high cost and rare availability. 13,14 In search of a pertinent alternative electrocatalyst, various transition metal-based materials have been proposed for the HER process and reported with reasonable catalytic activity and stability.…”

“…This disagreement could be overcome by eco-friendly production of hydrogen using water as the source. , Accordingly, the electrochemical water splitting has garnered enormous attention owing to its efficacy towards hydrogen generation from water without any side products and environmental loss. − This water splitting involves two major reactions, viz., hydrogen and oxygen (O 2 ) evolution reactions, which occur at the cathode and anode, respectively. , Owing to the sluggish kinetics in these reactions, a huge overpotential is required to produce H 2 and O 2 through the water splitting process. The water electrolysis can be made extensive and effective for real-time applications upon designing enormously active, largely stable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts. , To date, platinum-based materials are well recognized as the suitable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER), , which indeed suffer due to the high cost and rare availability. , …”