Epitaxial Ultrathin Pt Atomic Layers on CrN Nanoparticle Catalysts

The construction of platinum (Pt) atomic layers is an effective strategy to improve the utilization efficiency of Pt atoms in electrocatalysis, thus is important for reducing the capital costs of a wide range of energy storage and conversion devices. However, the substrates used to grow Pt atomic layers are largely limited to noble metals and their alloys, which is not conducive to reducing catalyst costs. Herein, low-cost chromium nitride (CrN) is utilized as a support for the loading of epitaxial ultrathin Pt atomic layers via a simple thermal ammonolysis method. Owing to the strong anchoring and electronic regulation of Pt atomic layers by CrN, the obtained Pt atomic layers catalyst (containing electron-deficient Pt sites) exhibits excellent activity and endurance for the formic acid oxidation reaction, with a mass activity of 5.17 A mg_Pt ^-1 that is 13.6 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. This novel strategy demonstrates that CrN can replace noble metals as a low-cost substrate for constructing Pt atomic layers catalysts.