Issue 8, 2023

B4C enhances the supported platinum DER/HER performance

Abstract

The high energy barrier of D–O bond breakage leads to a slow kinetic reaction rate in the electrocatalytic deuterium evolution reaction (DER). Therefore, the platinum–carbon catalyst (Pt/C) shows unsatisfactory performance in the DER. Here, Pt/B4C catalysts were constructed via the strong metal support interaction (SMSI) between boron carbide (B4C) and platinum (Pt). The SMSI influenced the electronic structure and dispersion of Pt, resulting in a higher degree of Pt dispersion on B4C with stronger electronegativity, and Pt/B4C thus exhibited better DER/HER performance than Pt/C in acidic and basic solutions. The overpotential was only 48 mV (11 mV) and 47 mV (31 mV) when the current density was 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M NaOD (NaOH) and 0.5 M D2SO4 (H2SO4), respectively. The Pt/B4C catalyst activity showed no decay after accelerated durability testing (ADT) and 100 hours of it stability testing. Density functional theory (DFT) suggests that the electron rearrangement between B4C and metallic Pt leads to a stronger electronegativity of Pt, whereas the electron-deficient state of Pt can facilitate the dissociation of D2O/H2O and the resolution of D2/H2. This research provides a useful new guideline and reference for the preparation of high-performance DER/HER catalysts.

Graphical abstract: B4C enhances the supported platinum DER/HER performance

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Nov 2022
Accepted
12 Jan 2023
First published
13 Jan 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 4000-4006

B4C enhances the supported platinum DER/HER performance

Y. Li, S. Zhang, W. Xu, C. Jiang, L. Shao, S. Wang and J. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 4000 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA09172K

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