Interfacial engineering of POM-stabilized Ni quantum dots on porous titanium mesh for high-rate and stable alkaline hydrogen production

Abstract

The development of low-cost, high-efficiency, and stable electrocatalysts for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a key challenge because the alkaline HER kinetics is slowed by an additional water dissociation step. Herein, we report an interfacial engineering strategy for polyoxometalate (POM)-stabilized nickel (Ni) quantum dots decorated on the surface of porous titanium mesh (POMs–Ni@PTM) for high-rate and stable alkaline hydrogen production. Benefiting from the strong interfacial interactions among POMs, Ni atoms, and PTM substrates, as well as unique POM–Ni quantum dot structures, the optimized POMs–Ni@PTM electrocatalyst exhibits a remarkable alkaline HER performance with an overpotential (η₁₀) of 30.1 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², which is much better than those of bare Ni decorated porous titanium mesh (Ni@PTM) (η₁₀ = 171.1 mV) and POM decorated porous titanium mesh (POMs@PTM) electrocatalysts (η₁₀ = 493.6 mV), comparable to that of the commercial 20 wt% platinum/carbon (20% Pt/C) electrocatalyst (η₁₀ = 20 mV). Moreover, the optimized POMs–Ni@PTM electrocatalyst demonstrates excellent stability under continuous alkaline water-splitting at a current density of ∼100 mA cm⁻² for 100 h, demonstrating great potential for its practical application.