Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and doping modification of Weyl semimetal PtBi2 acidic solutions

Abstract

We synthesized centimeter-scale type-I Weyl semimetal layered trigonal PtBi₂ (t-PtBi₂) crystals, including intrinsic PtBi₂ crystals and PtBi₂ crystals doped with diverse elements. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution tests were conducted in acidic solutions, allowing for a comparative analysis of their performance against commercial Pt/C electrodes. The results demonstrated that the hydrogen evolution activity of the synthesized topological semimetal crystals significantly surpassed that of the commercial Pt/C electrodes. Furthermore, the introduction of various dopants further enhanced the hydrogen evolution performance of the crystals. Besides, the first principles calculations confirmed these findings and were consistent with the experimental data. This research contributes valuable insights into the potential applications of topological semimetals in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.