Polyethylenimine-modified bimetallic Au@Rh core–shell mesoporous nanospheres surpass Pt for pH-universal hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis

Abstract

How to boost the electrocatalytic performance of non-Pt catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to substitute Pt is an important research topic. Herein, by combining a one-pot wet-chemical method and the post surface functionalization, we successfully fabricated polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified bimetallic Au@Rh core–shell mesoporous nanospheres (Au@Rh@PEI MNs). Benefiting from the synergetic effects of Au@Rh core–shell mesoporous architectures and interfacial modification by PEI molecules, the resultant Au@Rh@PEI MNs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for the HER in all pH value solutions, which even surpass the benchmark commercial Pt/C catalyst. Our synthetic protocol may offer guidelines for the rational design of advanced catalysts for water splitting and other electrocatalytic applications.