Directed Dual Charge Pumping Tunes the d-Orbital Configuration of Pt Cluster Boosting Hydrogen Evolution Kinetic

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Minimizing platinum (Pt) loading is essential for cost-effective hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysis in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis.
• Current catalysts face challenges in achieving high activity with reduced Pt amounts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a directed dual-charge pumping strategy to enhance the catalytic activity of Pt nanoclusters for HER.
• To optimize the electronic structure of Pt for improved hydrogen binding and catalytic efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of ligand effects and electronic metal-support interactions (EMSI) to understand electron transfer dynamics.
• Experimental synthesis of antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) supported Fe-doped PtSn heterostructure catalysts (Fe-PtSn/ATO).
• Electrochemical characterization of catalyst performance in acidic media for HER.

Main Results:

• The directed dual-charge pumping strategy effectively tunes the d-orbital electronic distribution of Pt nanoclusters.
• Synthesized 3%Fe-PtSn/ATO catalysts demonstrated significantly lower overpotential (10.5 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) and higher mass activity (28.6x commercial Pt/C).
• The catalysts exhibited excellent stability in acidic media for HER.

Conclusions:

• The proposed strategy offers a promising pathway for developing highly efficient HER catalysts with minimal Pt loading.
• Optimized electronic structure and metal-support interactions are key to enhancing HER performance.