Multifunctional Active‐Center‐Transferable Platinum/Lithium Cobalt Oxide Heterostructured Electrocatalysts towards Superior Water Splitting

Designing cost‐effective and efficient electrocatalysts plays a pivotal role in advancing the development of electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. Herein, multifunctional active‐center‐transferable heterostructured electrocatalysts, platinum/lithium cobalt oxide (Pt/LiCoO₂) composites with Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) anchored on LiCoO₂ nanosheets, are designed towards highly efficient water splitting. In this electrocatalyst system, the active center can be alternatively switched between Pt species and LiCoO₂ for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Specifically, Pt species are the active centers and LiCoO₂ acts as the co‐catalyst for HER, whereas the active center transfers to LiCoO₂ and Pt turns into the co‐catalyst for OER. The unique architecture of Pt/LiCoO₂ heterostructure provides abundant interfaces with favorable electronic structure and coordination environment towards optimal adsorption behavior of reaction intermediates. The 30 % Pt/LiCoO₂ heterostructured electrocatalyst delivers low overpotentials of 61 and 285 mV to achieve 10 mA cm^?2 for HER and OER in alkaline medium, respectively.     

Loading Copper Atoms on Graphdiyne for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Production

Graphdiyne, as a magical support, can anchor zero valence metal atoms, providing us with an opportunity to develop emerging catalysts with the maximized active sites and selectivity. Herein we report high-performance atom catalysts (ACs), Cu⁰/GDY, by anchoring Cu atoms on graphdiyne (GDY) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The activity and selectivity of this catalyst are obviously superior to that of commercial 20 wt.% Pt/C, and the turnover frequency of 30.52 s⁻¹ is 18 times larger than 20 wt.% Pt/C. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the strong p-d coupling induced charge compensation leads to the zero valence state of the atomic-scaled transition metal catalyst. Our results show the strong advantages of graphdiyne-anchored metal atom catalysts in the field of electrochemical catalysis and opens up a new direction in the field of electrocatalysis.     

MoP-NC纳米球负载Pt纳米粒子用于高效甲醇电解

实现绿色甲醇电解制氢需要高效的双功能催化剂。本文采用热处理结合乙二醇还原法成功制备了MoP-NC纳米球负载的超细Pt纳米粒子(平均粒径为2.53 nm)复合催化剂(Pt/MoP-NC)用于高效甲醇电解制氢。MoP-NC纳米球不仅能提高Pt纳米粒子的分散性并且增强Pt的抗中毒能力。电化学测试表明Pt/MoP-NC催化剂在酸性甲醇氧化反应(MOR)和析氢反应(HER)中具有较高的催化性能;其中,MOR的正向扫描峰值电流密度为90.7 mA∙cm⁻²,是商业Pt/C催化剂的3.2倍,在10 mA∙cm⁻²的电流密度下,HER的过电位低至30 mV,与商业Pt/C接近。由Pt/MoP-NC||Pt/MoP-NC组装的两电极电解槽驱动10 mA∙cm⁻²的电流密度仅需要0.67 V的电压,比相同条件下电解水的电压低1.02 V,大大降低了能量输入。Pt/MoP-NC的高催化性能主要来源于Pt活性中心与相邻层状多孔球形结构的MoP-NC载体之间电子效应及配体效应引起的抗一氧化碳中毒能力的提升和含氧物种的容易生成。     

Highly Dispersed Pt Nanoparticles Embedded in N-Doped Porous Carbon for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

A novel and facile strategy is presented to synthesize highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles embedded in N-doped porous carbon (Pt@NPC) via carbonization of Zn-containing metal-organic frameworks and chemical replacement of Zn with Pt. The as-prepared Pt@NPC exhibits superior activity and durability towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in comparison with commercial Pt/C catalyst. The excellent HER performance of Pt@NPC can be ascribed to the combined features of catalyst and support material, including high dispersion and ultrathin particle size of Pt, high surface area and nitrogen doping of carbon support, and the strong interaction between metal and support.     

Low‐Pt Loaded on a Vanadium Nitride/Graphitic Carbon Composite as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The high cost of platinum electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has hindered the commercialization of fuel cells. An effective support can reduce the usage of Pt and improve the reactivity of Pt through synergistic effects. Herein, the vanadium nitride/graphitic carbon (VN/GC) nanocomposites, which act as an enhanced carrier of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) towards ORR, have been synthesized for the first time. In the synthesis, the VN/GC composite could be obtained by introducing VO₃^? and [Fe(CN)₆]^4? ions into the polyacrylic weak‐acid anion‐exchanged resin (PWAR) through an in‐situ anion‐exchanged route, followed by carbonization and a subsequent nitridation process. After loading only 10 % Pt NPs, the resulting Pt‐VN/GC catalyst demonstrates a more positive onset potential (1.01 V), higher mass activity (137.2 mA mg^?1), and better cyclic stability (99 % electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) retention after 2000 cycles) towards ORR than the commercial 20 % Pt/C. Importantly, the Pt‐VN/GC catalyst mainly exhibits a 4 e^?‐transfer mechanism and a low yield of peroxide species, suggesting its potential application as a low‐cost and highly efficient ORR catalyst in fuel cells.     

ZIF-Induced d-Band Modification in a Bimetallic Nanocatalyst: Achieving Over 44 % Efficiency in the Ambient Nitrogen Reduction Reaction

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) offers a sustainable solution towards ammonia production but suffers poor reaction performance owing to preferential catalyst–H formation and the consequential hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Now, the Pt/Au electrocatalyst d-band structure is electronically modified using zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) to achieve a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of >44 % with high ammonia yield rate of >161 μg mg_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ under ambient conditions. The strategy lowers electrocatalyst d-band position to weaken H adsorption and concurrently creates electron-deficient sites to kinetically drive NRR by promoting catalyst–N₂ interaction. The ZIF coating on the electrocatalyst doubles as a hydrophobic layer to suppress HER, further improving FE by >44-fold compared to without ZIF (ca. 1 %). The Pt/Au-N_ZIF interaction is key to enable strong N₂ adsorption over H atom.     

Electrochemically exfoliating graphite into N-doped graphene and its use as a high efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

N-doped graphene has been extensively explored because of their intriguing properties. However, most of the conventional heat-processed N-doped graphene (HNG) suffer from the poor hydrophilic property and low electric conductivity when using electrode materials. Herein, we present a facile solution-processed strategy to fabricate N-doped graphene through electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in inorganic electrolyte solution. The resulting electrochemically exfoliated N-doped graphene (ENG) has high level of nitrogen (7.9 at.%) and oxygen (16.5 at.%), moreover, excellent electric conductivity (19 s cm^?1). As a binder-free electrode material for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), ENG exhibits much better electroactivity than HNG and electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EG), moreover, much better methanol tolerance and long-term durability than that commercial Pt/C catalyst. The results provide new sights into scalable production of noble metal-free catalyst towards ORR.     

Facile and Large-Scale Fabrication of Sub-3 nm PtNi Nanoparticles Supported on Porous Carbon Sheet: A Bifunctional Material for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Hydrogenation

Facile and large-scale preparation of materials with uniform distributions of ultrafine particles for catalysis is a challenging task, and it is even more difficult to obtain catalysts that excel in both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and hydrogenation, which are the corresponding merging and splitting procedures of hydrogen, respectively. Herein, the fabrication of ultrafine bimetallic PtNi nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanosheets (CNS) by means of in situ self-polymerization and annealing is reported. This bifunctional catalyst shows excellent performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol. Remarkably PtNi bimetallic catalyst with low metal loading (PtNi₂@CNS-600, 0.074 wt % Pt) exhibited outstanding HER activity with an overpotential as low as 68 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² with a platinum loading of only 0.612 μg_Pt cm⁻² and Tafel slope of 35.27 mV dec⁻¹ in a 0.5 m aqueous solution of H₂SO₄, which is comparable to that of the 20 % Pt/C catalyst (31 mV dec⁻¹). Moreover, it also shows superior long-term electrochemical durability for at least 30 h with negligible degradation compared with 20 % Pt/C. In addition, the material with increased loading (mPtNi₂@CNS-600, 2.88 % Pt) showed robust catalytic activity for hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol at ambient pressure and temperature. The catalytic activity towards hydrogen splitting is a circumstantial evidence that agrees with the Volmer–Tafel reaction path in the HER.     

Well‐Dispersed Pt Cubes on Porous Cu Foam: High‐Performance Catalysts for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Glucose in Neutral Media

The investigation of highly efficient catalysts for the electrochemical oxidation of glucose is the most critical challenge to commercialize nonenzymatic glucose sensors, which display a few attractive superiorities including the sufficient stability of their properties and the desired reproducibility of results over enzyme electrodes. Herein we propose a new and very promising catalyst: Pt cubes well‐dispersed on the porous Cu foam, for the the electrochemical oxidation reaction of glucose in neutral media. The catalyst is fabricated in situ on a homemade screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE) substrate through initially synthesizing the three‐dimensional (3D) porous Cu foam using a hydrogen evolution assisted electrodeposition strategy, followed by electrochemically reducing the platinic precursor simply and conveniently. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proofs demonstrate that Pt cubes, with an average size (the distance of opposite faces) of 185.1 nm, highly dispersed on the macro/nanopore integrated Cu foam support can be reproducibly obtained. The results of electrochemical tests indicate that the cubic Pt‐based catalyst exhibits significant enhancement on the catalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of glucose in the presence of chloride ions, providing a specific activity 6.7 times and a mass activity 5.3 times those of commercial Pt/C catalysts at ?0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). In addition, the proposed catalyst shows excellent stability of performance, with only a 2.8 % loss of electrocatalytic activity after 100 repetitive measurements.     

ZIF‐Induced d‐Band Modification in a Bimetallic Nanocatalyst: Achieving Over 44 % Efficiency in the Ambient Nitrogen Reduction Reaction

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) offers a sustainable solution towards ammonia production but suffers poor reaction performance owing to preferential catalyst–H formation and the consequential hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Now, the Pt/Au electrocatalyst d‐band structure is electronically modified using zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) to achieve a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of >44 % with high ammonia yield rate of >161 μg mg_cat^?1 h^?1 under ambient conditions. The strategy lowers electrocatalyst d‐band position to weaken H adsorption and concurrently creates electron‐deficient sites to kinetically drive NRR by promoting catalyst–N₂ interaction. The ZIF coating on the electrocatalyst doubles as a hydrophobic layer to suppress HER, further improving FE by >44‐fold compared to without ZIF (ca. 1 %). The Pt/Au‐N_ZIF interaction is key to enable strong N₂ adsorption over H atom.     

Interfacial Engineering FeOOH/CoO Nanoneedle Array for Efficient Overall Water Splitting Driven by Solar Energy

Interface engineering has been applied as an effective strategy to boost the electrocatalytic performance because of the strong coupling and synergistic effects between individual components. Here, we engineered vertically aligned FeOOH/CoO nanoneedle array with a synergistic interface between FeOOH and CoO on Ni foam (NF) by a simple impregnation method. The synthesized FeOOH/CoO exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic activity and stability for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline medium. For the overall water splitting, the bifunctional FeOOH/CoO nanoneedle catalyst requires only a cell voltage of 1.58 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², which is much lower than that required for IrO₂//Pt/C (1.68 V). The FeOOH/CoO catalyst has been successfully applied for solar cell-driven water electrolysis, revealing its great potential for commercial hydrogen production and solar energy storage.     

Rapid Activation of Platinum with Black Phosphorus for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Modulation of the electronic structure of metal catalysts is an effective approach to optimize the electrocatalytic activity. Herein, we show a surprisingly strong activation effect of black phosphorus (BP) on platinum (Pt) catalysts to give greatly enhanced catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The unique and negative binding energy between BP and Pt leads to spontaneous formation of Pt‐P bonds producing strong synergistic ligand effects on the Pt nanoparticles. No Pt‐P bonds are formed with red phosphorus which is another allotrope of P. By controlling the number of Pt‐P bonds, 3.5‐fold enhancement in the HER activity can be achieved from the BP‐activated Pt catalyst and the activity is 6.1 times higher than that of the state‐of‐the‐art commercial Pt/C catalyst. The BP‐activated Pt catalyst exhibits a current density of 82.89 mA cm^?2 with only 1 μg of Pt in 1 m KOH at an overpotential of 70 mV.     

Multifunctional Active-Center-Transferable Platinum/Lithium Cobalt Oxide Heterostructured Electrocatalysts towards Superior Water Splitting

Designing cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts plays a pivotal role in advancing the development of electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. Herein, multifunctional active-center-transferable heterostructured electrocatalysts, platinum/lithium cobalt oxide (Pt/LiCoO₂) composites with Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) anchored on LiCoO₂ nanosheets, are designed towards highly efficient water splitting. In this electrocatalyst system, the active center can be alternatively switched between Pt species and LiCoO₂ for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Specifically, Pt species are the active centers and LiCoO₂ acts as the co-catalyst for HER, whereas the active center transfers to LiCoO₂ and Pt turns into the co-catalyst for OER. The unique architecture of Pt/LiCoO₂ heterostructure provides abundant interfaces with favorable electronic structure and coordination environment towards optimal adsorption behavior of reaction intermediates. The 30 % Pt/LiCoO₂ heterostructured electrocatalyst delivers low overpotentials of 61 and 285 mV to achieve 10 mA cm⁻² for HER and OER in alkaline medium, respectively.     

Pt-Cu合金纳米枝晶的合成及其氧还原催化性能

纳米材料的结构和化学成分对其催化性能的显著影响已经得到验证. 因此,本文通过一种简易的蚀刻方法,合成出具有均匀合金结构且尺寸和形貌均一的Pt-Cu纳米枝晶（NDs）作为高效氧还原（ORR）催化剂. 其树枝状形貌的形成得益于由Br^-/O₂氧化蚀刻剂引起的蚀刻效应. 通过改变Pt/Cu前驱体的比例可以容易地调节Pt-Cu NDs的Pt/Cu原子比,而不会使其树枝状形貌发生改变. 活性最高的碳载Pt₁Cu₁ NDs（Pt₁Cu₁ NDs/C）的面积比活性为1.17 mA·cm^-2@0.9V（vs. RHE）,约为商业Pt/C的5.32倍. 此外,Pt₁Cu₁ NDs/C还具有卓越的电化学耐久性,即使在经过加速衰减实验的12000个电势循环后仍保持其优异的ORR催化活性. Pt₁Cu₁ NDs/C优异的ORR催化活性和电化学耐久性得益于由其合金结构和枝晶形貌产生的电子效应和结构效应.     

利用MOF-253衍生氮掺杂碳限域效应促进Pt纳米单晶电催化剂的氧析出反应

目前,为了有效解决电化学能量转化反应动力学过程缓慢和商业化应用等问题,需要大力提高催化剂的电催化活性和稳定性,并大幅降低贵金属催化剂的用量.通常,铂(Pt)基催化剂对燃料电池的氧还原反应(ORR)和水电解过程的氢析出反应(HER)表现出很高的活性.然而,对于高效的金属-空气电池和水电解装置,其中的氧析出反应(OER)则需要高活性的非Pt电催化剂来降低电化学过电位及提高其对高电位的耐受性.虽然相较于Pt催化剂,IrO2和RuO2等贵金属催化剂表现出了更高的OER活性,然而,它们的稳定性差,难以满足实际应用需求,严重阻碍了其在金属-空气电池和水电解中的应用.通常,Pt对OER的低效催化主要归因于在OER电催化过程中Pt与电解液直接接触,导致Pt表面快速被氧化,形成Pt氧化物(Pt^+4O2和Pt^+2O)层.形成的Pt氧化物对OER不起催化作用,从而降低了Pt的利用率和总的水电解效率.为了避免Pt表面的快速氧化,实现高的OER性能,我们将Pt金属纳米粒子有效地限域在超薄功能多孔碳层内.前期,已有大量的有关金属基ORR和HER催化剂研究证明,这种策略对于稳定金属纳米颗粒非常有效,可有效避免金属催化剂的快速氧化,而且还可抑制金属颗粒迁移和团聚;此外,还有利于增强催化剂的导电性和离子物种的扩散能力,从而提高催化剂的电催化性能.然而,要达到提高金属催化剂OER电催化性能的目的,还需要设计一种具有优良结构的功能化异质原子掺杂多孔碳基限域材料.金属有机框架(MOF),特别是MOF-253,由于具有较高的柔韧性、丰富的孔、可控的几何结构和高比表面积,被认为是制备功能多孔碳基限域材料的理想前驱体.为此,通过结合功能多孔碳基材料的限域作用及MOF-253和超细Pt纳米单晶的优势,本文合成了MOF-253衍生氮掺杂碳(N/C)限域的Pt纳米单晶(Pt@N/C)核壳型电催化剂.制备的Pt-N-C框架不仅具有超薄的氮掺杂活性多孔碳保护层壳体(平均厚度为0.51 nm),还有具高度分散和稳定化的Pt纳米单晶核体;值得指出的是,因受到碳层的限域作用,即使经900℃的高温处理,Pt纳米单晶仍保持了较小的晶体尺寸(平均粒径仅为6.7 nm);此外,该催化剂的Pt载量较低,仅为6.1wt%(Pt@N/C-10).将其作为OER电催化剂,表现出优异的OER性能:在10 mA cm^-2电流密度下,其过电位仅为298 mV,低于商业IrO2催化剂(353 mV);而且,经2000周加速电位扫描后,其电位仅降低19.4 mV,也低于IrO2(23.3 mV).本文很好地证明了通过构建空间限域结构可以有效解决Pt等金属催化剂因表面氧化而导致OER动力学活性和稳定性低的问题.     

Ru-Ni/C催化剂在碱性介质中的析氢性能研究

氢气的高效生产和利用对构建清洁低碳的能源体系至关重要, 碱性电解水制氢是目前我国应用最多的制氢技术,但也存在能耗较高的难题。因此迫切需要寻找低成本、高性能的电催化剂用于析氢反应（HER）提高水分解效率。本工作采用沉积沉淀法合成了双金属负载型Ru-Ni/C催化剂,用透射电子显微镜（TEM）和X射线衍射（XRD）对催化剂的形貌和结构进行了表征。用线性扫描伏安法（LSV）、电化学阻抗谱（EIS）等测试了HER性能。结果显示炭载体上RuNi双金属均匀分散,在电流密度为10 mA?cm-2时过电位仅为34.4 mV且稳定性良好,Tafel斜率仅为60.33 mV?dec-1,比商用Pt/C还小。表明Ru-Ni/C催化剂展现出了优异的HER电催化活性和稳定性,RuNi双金属之间的协同效应很大程度上促进了催化剂的催化性能,该研究为发展高效的碱性电解水制氢阴极催化剂提供了新思路。     

PtNi Alloy Coated in Porous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as Highly Efficient Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

The development of low platinum loading hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts with high activity and stability is of great significance to the practical application of hydrogen energy. This paper reports a simple method to synthesize a highly efficient HER catalyst through coating a highly dispersed PtNi alloy on porous nitrogen-doped carbon (MNC) derived from the zeolite imidazolate skeleton. The catalyst is characterized and analyzed by physical characterization methods, such as XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, and LSV, EIS, it, v-t, etc. The optimized sample exhibits an overpotential of only 26 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², outperforming commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (33 mV). The synthesized catalyst shows a relatively fast HER kinetics as evidenced by the small Tafel slope of 21.5 mV dec⁻¹ due to the small charge transfer resistance, the alloying effect between Pt and Ni, and the interaction between PtNi alloy and carrier.     

Hollow-Structure Pt-Ni Nanoparticle Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

An electrocatalyst with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and high stability during start–stop operation is necessary. In this paper, hollow-structure Pt-Ni electrocatalysts are investigated as ORR catalysts. After synthesis via sacrificial SiO₂ template method, the electrocatalyst exhibits much higher specific activity (1.88 mA/cm²) than a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The mass activity (0.49 A/mg) is 7 times higher than the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The kinetics of the ORR is evaluated using Tafel and K-L plots. It also exhibits a higher durability than commercial Pt/C catalyst during accelerated durability test (ADT). Moreover, the electrocatalyst shows good resistance against accelerated durability test for start–stop, the specific activity and mass activity drops 34.6% and 40.8%, respectively, far better than the commercial catalyst.     

Ultrafine PtRu Dilute Alloy Nanodendrites for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Methanol Oxidation

Dilute alloy nanostructures have been demonstrated to possess distinct catalytic properties. Noble-metal-induced reduction is one effective synthesis strategy to construct dilute alloys and modify the catalytic performance of the host metal. Herein, we report the synthesis of ultrafine PtRu dilute alloy nanodendrites (PtRu NDs, molar ratio Ru/Pt is 1:199) by the reduction of Ru^III ions induced by Pt metal. For the methanol oxidation reaction, PtRu NDs showed the highest forward peak current density (2.66 mA cm⁻², 1.14 A/mg_Pt) and the best stability compared to those of pure-Pt nanodendrites (pure-Pt NDs), commercial PtRu/C and commercial Pt/C catalysts.     

Synergism of Pt nanoparticles and iron oxide support for chemoselective hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions

An efficient and low-cost supported Pt catalyst for hydrogenation of niroarenes was prepared with colloid Pt precursors and α-Fe₂O₃ as a support. The catalyst with Pt content as low as 0.2 wt% exhibits high activities, chemoselectivities and stability in the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene and a variety of niroarenes. The conversion of nitrobenzene can reach 3170 mol_conv h^?1 mol_Pt^?1 under mild conditions (30 °C, 5 bar), which is much higher than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst and many reported catalysts under similar reaction conditions. The spatial separation of the active sites for H₂ dissociation and hydrogenation should be responsible for the high chemoselectivity, which decreases the contact possibility between the reducible groups of nitroarenes and Pt nanoparticles. The unique surface properties of α-Fe₂O₃ play an important role in the reaction process. It provides active sites for hydrogen spillover and reactant adsorption, and ultimately completes the hydrogenation of the nitro group on the catalyst surface.