Gas Flow Sputtering of Pt/C Films and their Performance in Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Electrocatalytic applications require efficient and scalable methods for producing catalyst films.
• Platinum-carbon (Pt/C) composites are crucial for reactions like hydrogen evolution.
• Current deposition techniques can be time-consuming and lack scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a single-step deposition technique for Pt/C films using hollow cathode gas flow sputtering (GFS).
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic performance of GFS-deposited Pt/C films for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• To assess the scalability and efficiency of the GFS method for industrial applications.

Main Methods:

• Hollow cathode gas flow sputtering (GFS) for single-step deposition of Pt/C films.
• Characterization of film morphology, including Pt nanocrystal size and carbon matrix.
• Electrochemical testing under acidic conditions to evaluate hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance.

Main Results:

• GFS enables rapid production of Pt/C films with small Pt nanocrystals (2-5 nm) in a carbon matrix.
• Films exhibit low and stable overpotential in acidic HER, indicating catalytic activity.
• Lower Pt-mass activity is linked to high Pt content; non-graphitic carbon results in high resistivity.

Conclusions:

• The GFS technique is a rapid, high-yield, and scalable method for Pt/C film deposition.
• GFS offers advantages over traditional sputtering and chemical methods for producing large-area cathode coatings.
• Further optimization is needed to address Pt content and carbon resistivity for enhanced catalytic efficiency.