Facile and Rapid Synthesis of Ultra-Low-Loading Pt-Based Catalyst Boosting Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

The development of a low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst is crucial for the implementation of hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Herein, a facile and rapid electrodeposition method to synthesize an ultra-low-loading platinum-based catalyst in a short time of 120 s without any other chemical additive is reported. A functionalized nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (F-N-CNT) is utilized as a carbon support to controllably and effectively anchor the Pt species. With partially oxidized and unzipped, the surface of F-N-CNT is characterized with zig-zag graphene-like nanodomains, which provide enriched deposition sites for Pt species and act as a buffer preventing the agglomeration and overloading of the Pt. Due to rational design of the interfacial chemical environment, the optimized Pt/F-N-CNTs catalyst possesses an ultra-low loading of 1.37 wt% but delivers a prominent HER activity superior to commercial 20 wt% Pt/C. Therefore, this work provides a novel approach to preparing the Pt-based catalyst with outstanding activity and rational loading.