Issue 18, 2019

Anchoring ultrafine PtNi nanoparticles on N-doped graphene for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The exploration of high-efficiency electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great significance for sustainable energy conversion applications, yet it remains a grand challenge. Herein, a facile and rapid strategy to synthesize ultrafine PtNi nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on N-doped graphene (rGO(N)) (labeled as PtNi/rGO(N)) at room temperature is demonstrated. (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) is selected as an effective nitrogen source to form two kinds of nitrogen (doping N and amine N) simultaneously for fabricating a rGO(N) matrix during the chemical reduction process. Benefiting from the bimetallic synergistic effect and strong metal–support interactions, this composite is expected to accelerate H+ adsorption and H2 desorption and reduce the transport resistance of electrons and hydrogen intermediates. As a consequence, the PtNi/rGO(N) with ultralow Pt loading amount (1.2 μg per electrode area (cm2)) exhibits extraordinary catalytic activity with a small overpotential of 98 mV at a current density of 10 mA μgPt−1 and an exceptional Tafel slope of 42.7 mV dec−1 for HER, exceeding the incumbent commercial Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the PtNi/rGO(N) also displays excellent stability with negligible current degradation during a continuous operation for 20 h. The present work would be proposed as an elegant platform toward the exploration of efficient HER electrocatalysts for various renewable energy conversion applications.

Graphical abstract: Anchoring ultrafine PtNi nanoparticles on N-doped graphene for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Jun 2019
Accepted
01 Aug 2019
First published
01 Aug 2019

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019,9, 4961-4969

Anchoring ultrafine PtNi nanoparticles on N-doped graphene for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

J. Bao, J. Wang, Y. Zhou, Y. Hu, Z. Zhang, T. Li, Y. Xue, C. Guo and Y. Zhang, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019, 9, 4961 DOI: 10.1039/C9CY01182J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements