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In situ surface reduction for accessing atomically dispersed platinum on carbon sheets for acidic hydrogen evolution
Weiwei Quan1,2,3, Xinglin Ruan4, Yingbin Lin1,2,3
1Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350117, China. hyy@fjnu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Exploring the simple yet well-controlled synthesis of atomically dispersed Pt catalysts is a crucial endeavour for harvesting clean hydrogen via the kinetics-favoured acidic electrochemical water splitting technique. Here we employed the use of defective carbon sheets by KOH etching as a substrate for the in situ surface reduction of Pt(IV) ions to prepare atomically dispersed Pt. Physical and electrochemical characterizations reveal a strong interaction between the carbon substrate and Pt species, providing the basis for the in situ surface reduction. The atomically dispersed Pt electrocatalyst exhibited high HER performance in a sulfuric acid electrolyte, with an overpotential as low as 55 mV at a current density of 100 mA cm-a, and better catalytic durability compared to the commercial Pt/C. The mechanism study revealed that the full utilization of atomically dispersed Pt and the optimized catalyst surface may enhance the recombination of adsorbed *H via the Volmer-Tafel mechanism to produce H2 at a high efficiency. In the light of high activity, durability, and low cost, the atomically dispersed Pt material is promising for acidic HER application.
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