Abstract
Platinum-based material is the most efficient and durable electrocatalyst for motivating the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an acidic electrolyte; however, its low abundance and high cost limit its further application in proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) technology. Therefore, minimizing the Pt amount while retaining high activity would be desirable. Herein, we use defect-rich W18O49 nanowires to anchor well-dispersed, ultrafine Pt species (Pt−W18O49) via a freeze-drying method to avoid aggregation, further mediating an efficient and durable HER in acidic water. Density functional theory analyses also demonstrate that the strong electronic interaction between the Pt species and W18O49 support greatly improves the HER performance. With a 1/10 Pt loading amount of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C, the Pt−W18O49 catalyst requires the over-potentials of 116 and 743 mV to achieve high current densities of 100 and 1000 mA cm−2 in 0.5 mol L−1 H2SO4, outperforming those of the 20 wt% Pt/C benchmark. More importantly, the Pt−W18O49 catalyst can sustain a high-current-density HER at 500 mA cm−2 for more than 38 h without obvious degradation. This work paves a new avenue for synergistically reducing the Pt amount and retaining high activity for real-world PEMWE.
摘要
铂(Pt)基材料是酸性电解质中析氢反应活性最高、稳定性最强的电催化剂; 但是它的低丰度以及昂贵的价格限制了其在质子交换膜电解水(PEMWE)技术中的应用. 因此, 最小化Pt的使用量并且保持其高活性成为研究热点. 在本文中我们利用低温抑制成核反应冷冻干燥合成法, 促使Pt组分高度分散地锚定在富含缺陷的W18O49纳米线上(Pt-W18O49), 进而实现了酸性电解质中高效稳定的析氢过程. 第一性原理计算证明了Pt组分与W18O49载体之间的强电荷相互作用可以提升析氢性能. Pt−W18O49催化剂中Pt用量仅为商业化20 wt% Pt/C催化剂的1/10, 该催化剂在0.5 mol L−1 H2SO4电解质中达到100和1000 mA cm−2电流密度时的过电位分别为116和743 mV, 超过了商业化的Pt/C催化剂. 该催化剂可以在500 mA cm−2的高电流密度条件下持续析氢超过38 h, 没有明显的性能衰减. 本工作为PEMWE技术的实际应用中降低Pt用量却保持高活性开创了新的研究思路.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21866028), the Development and Innovation Program of Bingtuan (2012QY13), the Program of Science and Technology Innovation Team in Bingtuan (2020CB006), and the Achievement Transformation and Technique Popularization Project of Shihezi University (CGZH201910).
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Li WX performed most of the experiments and analyzed the experimental data. Yang SC helped with TEM measurements and analysis. Liu ZY and Wu JN helped with XRD and FT-IR analysis. Sun L and Ma EG helped with HER tests in high-current-density regions. Guo X and Yang HG designed and guided the study. All authors discussed the results and assisted in reviewing and writing the manuscript.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.
Wen Xin Li is currently a master’s candidate at Shihezi University under the supervision of Prof. Xuhong Guo. His current research interests focus on the design, synthesis, and characterization of nanostructured electrocatalysts for water splitting.
Xuhong Guo is a joint professor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University and a full professor at the School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science & Technology (ECUST). He received a PhD degree in polymer chemistry from Karlsruhe University, Germany (2001), a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Sichuan University (1992) and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University (1989). He worked as a postdoctoral and research staff at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University for four years before he obtained his current position at ECUST in 2006. His research areas involve materials-oriented chemical engineering, energy-oriented chemical engineering, and agriculture-oriented chemical engineering.
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Highly dispersed Pt species anchored on W18O49 nanowires mediate efficient and durable hydrogen evolution in acidic water
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Li, W.X., Liu, Z.Y., Yang, S.C. et al. Highly dispersed Pt species anchored on W18O49 nanowires mediate efficient and durable hydrogen evolution in acidic water. Sci. China Mater. 65, 3435–3441 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-022-2258-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-022-2258-3