Single-atomic platinum on fullerene C60 surfaces for accelerated alkaline hydrogen evolution

Ruiling Zhang; Yaozhou Li; Xuan Zhou; Ao Yu; Qi Huang; Tingting Xu; Longtao Zhu; Ping Peng; Shuyan Song; Luis Echegoyen; Fang-Fang Li

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38126-z

Nature Communications (Apr 2023)

Single-atomic platinum on fullerene C60 surfaces for accelerated alkaline hydrogen evolution

Ruiling Zhang,
Yaozhou Li,
Xuan Zhou,
Ao Yu,
Qi Huang,
Tingting Xu,
Longtao Zhu,
Ping Peng,
Shuyan Song,
Luis Echegoyen,
Fang-Fang Li

Affiliations

Ruiling Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Yaozhou Li: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Xuan Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ao Yu: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Qi Huang: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Tingting Xu: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Longtao Zhu: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Ping Peng: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Shuyan Song: State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Luis Echegoyen: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso
Fang-Fang Li: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38126-z
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the most studied and promising processes for hydrogen fuel generation. Single-atom catalysts have been shown to exhibit ultra-high HER catalytic activity, but the harsh preparation conditions and the low single-atom loading hinder their practical applications. Furthermore, promoting hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics, especially in alkaline electrolytes, remains as an important challenge. Herein, Pt/C60 catalysts with high-loading, high-dispersion single-atomic platinum anchored on C60 are achieved through a room-temperature synthetic strategy. Pt/C60-2 exhibits high HER catalytic performance with a low overpotential (η10) of 25 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Pt-C60 polymeric structures in Pt/C60-2 favors water adsorption, and the shell-like charge redistribution around the Pt-bonding region induced by the curved surfaces of two adjacent C60 facilitates the desorption of hydrogen, thus favoring fast reaction kinetics for hydrogen evolution.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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