Pt Single Atom-Doped Triphasic VP-Ni₃P-MoP Heterostructure: Unveiling a Breakthrough Electrocatalyst for Efficient...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Effective metal-support interactions are crucial for enhancing alkaline water splitting using platinum-based single-atom catalysts (SACs).
• Developing highly active and stable electrocatalysts is essential for efficient hydrogen and oxygen production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel Pt single atom (Pt_SA)-immobilized three-phased Pt_SA@VP-Ni₃P-MoP heterostructure.
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic performance of the Pt_SA@VP-Ni₃P-MoP heterostructure for overall water splitting in an alkaline medium.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a Pt_SA@VP-Ni₃P-MoP heterostructure on nickel foam.
• Electrochemical characterization including overpotential measurements for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
• Evaluation of alkaline electrolyzer performance and Faradaic yield for H₂ and O₂ production.

Main Results:

• The Pt_SA@VP-Ni₃P-MoP catalyst demonstrated low overpotentials of 28 mV (HER) and 261 mV (OER) at 10 and 25 mA cm^-2, respectively.
• An alkaline electrolyzer using this catalyst achieved a minimum cell voltage of 1.48 V at 10 mA cm^-2 for overall water splitting.
• High Faradaic yields of ≈98.12% for H₂ and 98.47% for O₂ were observed at 50 mA cm^-2.

Conclusions:

• The Pt_SA@VP-Ni₃P-MoP heterostructure exhibits outstanding catalytic performance for alkaline water splitting.
• This study highlights the importance of single metal atom configuration and metal-support interactions in enhancing catalytic activity.
• The findings facilitate the synthesis of advanced SACs with high atomic utilization and improved electrocatalytic performance.