Ultralow-temperature assisted synthesis of single platinum atoms anchored on carbon nanotubes for efficiently electrocatalytic acidic hydrogen evolution

Although platinum(Pt) is highly active for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)[1], it is crucial to explore the effective approach for minimizing the Pt loading amount in the practical application. Herein, one ultralow-temperature solution reduction approach is developed to anchor atomically dispersed Pt atoms on carbon nanotubes(Pt-CNTs), which decelerates the diffusion rate of Pt Cl2-6 ion reached onto the carbon nanotubes and lowers the free energy of Pt atoms in the solution to reduce the probability of the Pt aggregation. The obtained Pt-CNTs exhibits a low overpotential of 41 mV@10 mA cm^(-2) for HER in acidic media. The calculation results revealed that the improvement of the electrocatalytic activity is contributed by the interaction between CNTs and Pt atoms, which descreases the the Pt d band cneter referred to the Fermi level and lowers the Gibbs free energy of H*adsorption. This work may provide one easy and convenient strategy for the large-scale use of Pt catalysts in practical applications.

In-situ surface decoration of RuO_(2) nanoparticles by laser ablation for improved oxygen evolution reaction activity in both acid and alkali solutions

Improving the OER activity of noble metal-based materials is of profound importance to minimize the usage of noble metals and lower the cost.Here,we report considerable improvement on the catalytic activity of RuO_(2) particles for OER in both alkali and acid environments.The RuO_(2) nanoparticles were treated with a method of pulse laser ablation.Numerous Ru and RuO_(2) clusters were generated at the surface of RuO_(2) nanoparticles after the laser ablation,forming a lychee-shaped morphology.The larger pulse energy RuO_(2) nanoparticles are treated with,the better the OER activity can be.DFT calculations shows that the surface tension induced by the lychee-shaped morphology benefits the OER performance.Our best sample gives an overpotential of 172 mV(at 10 mA cm^(-2))and a Tafel slope of 53.5 mV dec^(-1) in KOH,while an overpotential of 219 mV and a Tafel slope of 44.9 mV dec^(-1) in H_(2)SO_(4),which are of topclass results.This work may inspire a new way to develop high-performance electrocatalysts for OER.

Novel CoP/CoMoP_(2) heterojunction with nanoporous structure as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

The exploration of new heterojunction materials is of great significance in reducing the cost of existing noble metal catalysts and thus realizing the large-scale application of electrocatalytic hydrolysis technology.Herein,a novel CoP/CoMoP_(2) heterojunction was synthesized and served as a hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)electrocatalyst.The heterojunction has morphology of nanoporous structure,which is conducive to exposing more active sites and facilitating bubbles transport.The charge distribution is optimized by a strong interface interaction between CoP and CoMoP_(2).The catalyst’s conductivity and the adsorption properties of the intermediates have both been enhanced.CoP/CoMoP_(2) demonstrates excellent HER activity with an overpotential of 93.6 mV at 10 mA∙cm^(-2),which is competitive with the reported performance of analogous electrocatalysts.This work provides insights into the development of innovative phosphide-based heterojunction electrocatalysts.