Pt─O Bond Accelerated Cu⁰/Cu⁺ Activity for Boosting Low-Energy Bipolar Hydrogen Production

To address the imperative challenge of producing hydrogen in a low-energy consumption electrocatalytic system, this study emphasizes the utilization of thermodynamically favorable biomass oxidation for achieving energy-efficient hydrogen generation. This research integrates ultralow PtO₂-loaded flower-like nanosheets (denoted as PtO₂@Cu₂O/Cu FNs) with Cu⁰/Cu⁺ pairs and Pt─O bonds, thereby yielding substantial enhancement in both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, -0.042 V_RHE at 10 mA cm^-2) and furfural oxidation reaction (FFOR, 0.09 V_RHE at 10 mA cm^-2). As validated by DFT calculations, the dual built-in electric field (BIEF) is elucidated as the driving force behind the enhanced activities, in which Pt─O bonds expedite the HER, while Cu⁺/Cu⁰ promotes low-potential FFOR. By coupling the FFOR and HER together, the resulting bipolar-hydrogen production system requires a low power input (0.5072 kWh per m³) for producing H₂. The system can generate bipolar hydrogen and high value-added furoic acid, significantly enhancing hydrogen production efficiency and concurrently mitigating energy consumption.