Dynamic traction of lattice-confined platinum atoms into mesoporous carbon matrix for hydrogen evolution reaction

• Main Authors: Lou, David Xiong Wen, Zhang, Huabin, An, Pengfei, Zhou, Wei, Guan, Bu Yuan, Zhang, Peng, Dong, Juncai
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Platinum (Pt) Electrocatalysts; Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/85419; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/45149
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Constructing atomically dispersed platinum (Pt) electrocatalysts is essential to build high-performance and cost-effective electrochemical water-splitting systems. We present a novel strategy to realize the traction and stabilization of isolated Pt atoms in the nitrogen-containing porous carbon matrix (Pt@PCM). In comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst (20 weight %), the as-prepared Pt@PCM catalyst exhibits significantly boosted mass activity (up to 25 times) for hydrogen evolution reaction. Results of extended x-ray absorption fine structure investigation and density functional theory calculation suggest that the active sites are associated with the lattice-confined Pt centers and the activated carbon (C)/nitrogen (N) atoms at the adjacency of the isolated Pt centers. This strategy may provide insights into constructing highly efficient single-atom catalysts for different energy-related applications.