High‐entropy alloy stabilized and activated Pt clusters for highly efficient electrocatalysis
Wenhui Shi,
Hanwen Liu,
Zezhou Li,
Chenghang Li,
Jihan Zhou,
Yifei Yuan,
Feng Jiang,
(Kelvin) Kun Fu,
Yonggang Yao
Affiliations
Wenhui Shi
State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology School of Materials Science and Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan P. R. China
Hanwen Liu
State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology School of Materials Science and Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan P. R. China
Zezhou Li
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Peking University Beijing P. R. China
Chenghang Li
College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering Wenzhou University Wenzhou P. R. China
Jihan Zhou
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Peking University Beijing P. R. China
Yifei Yuan
College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering Wenzhou University Wenzhou P. R. China
Feng Jiang
Sustainable Functional Biomaterials Lab Department of Wood Science University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
(Kelvin) Kun Fu
Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Delaware Newark USA
Yonggang Yao
State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology School of Materials Science and Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan P. R. China
Abstract Although Pt and other noble metals are the state‐of‐the‐art catalysts for various energy conversion applications, their low reserve, high cost, and instability limit their large‐scale utilization. Herein, we report a hybrid catalysts design featuring noble metal clusters (e.g., Pt) uniformly dispersed and stabilized on high‐entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA, e.g., FeCoNiCu), denoted as HEA@Pt, which is prepared via ultra‐fast shock synthesis (∼300 ms) for HEA alloying combined with Pt galvanic replacement for surface anchoring. In our design, the HEA core critically ensures high dispersity, stability, and tunability of the surface Pt clusters through high entropy stabilization and core‐shell interactions. As an example in the hydrogen evolution reaction, HEA@Pt achieved a significant mass activity of 235 A/gPt, which is 9.4, 3.6, and 1.9‐times higher compared to that of homogeneous FeCoNiCuPt (HEA‐Pt), Pt, and commercial Pt/C, respectively. We also demonstrated noble Ir stabilized on FeCoNiCrMn nanoparticles (HEA‐5@Ir), achieving excellent anodic oxygen evolution performance and highly efficient overall water splitting when combined with the cathodic HEA@Pt. Therefore, our work developed a general catalysts design strategies by using high entropy nanoparticles for effective dispersion, stabilization, and modulation of surface active sites, achieving a harmonious combination of high activity, stability, and low cost.
