N-Doped Sandwich-Structured Mo₂C@C@Pt Interface with Ultralow Pt Loading for pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Designing efficient electrochemical interfaces is crucial for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• Platinum (Pt) based catalysts are highly active but expensive.
• Developing low-Pt or Pt-alternative catalysts with high activity and stability is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel Mo2C@NC@Pt nanospheres with a unique sandwich-structured interface.
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic performance of these heterostructures for HER in different pH media.
• To understand the structure-activity relationship and synergistic effects contributing to enhanced HER.

Main Methods:

• Facile organic-inorganic pyrolysis and reduction process for nanosphere synthesis.
• Electrochemical measurements including overpotential and stability tests.
• Characterization of material structure, composition, and morphology.

Main Results:

• Mo2C@NC@Pt nanospheres exhibited superior HER activity compared to commercial Pt/C.
• Achieved low overpotentials of 27 mV (acidic), 47 mV (alkaline), and 25 mV (neutral) at 10 mA cm⁻².
• Demonstrated favorable long-term stability in pH-universal solutions.
• Synergistic effects between Mo2C, N-doped carbon (NC), and Pt contributed to enhanced kinetics.

Conclusions:

• The developed Mo2C@NC@Pt heterostructures offer a promising pathway for efficient and stable HER catalysis.
• The unique sandwich-structured interface and synergistic effects are key to the enhanced performance.
• This approach provides insights into designing low-Pt catalysts for electrochemical applications.