Platinum/(Carbon-Nanotube) Electrocatalyst Boosts Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acidic, Neutral and Alkaline Solutions

Yi Liu; Peng Liu; Yingying Cai; Minghui Zhu; Ning Dou; Lei Zhang; Yu-Long Men; Yun-Xiang Pan

doi:10.1002/smll.202411181

Platinum/(Carbon-Nanotube) Electrocatalyst Boosts Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acidic, Neutral and Alkaline Solutions

Small. 2025 Jan 27:e2411181. doi: 10.1002/smll.202411181. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yi Liu¹, Peng Liu¹, Yingying Cai², Minghui Zhu², Ning Dou³, Lei Zhang⁴, Yu-Long Men¹, Yun-Xiang Pan¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China.
² State Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering and Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P. R. China.
³ Department of Thyroid Breast and Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital Affiliated To Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200081, P. R. China.
⁴ Department of Vascular Surgery, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China.

PMID: 39866017
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202411181

Abstract

Widely used catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) evolution reaction (HER) have high platinum (Pt) contents and show low efficiencies in neutral and alkaline solutions. Herein, a carbon nanotube (CNT) supported Pt catalyst (Pt/CNT45) with 1 wt.% Pt is fabricated. For HER, the mass activity of Pt/CNT45 in acidic (18.76 A mg_Pt ^-1), neutral (3.92 A mg_Pt ^-1), and alkaline (3.88 A mg_Pt ^-1) solutions is respectively much higher than those on commercial Pt/C catalyst with 20 wt.% Pt (acidic: 0.31 A mg_Pt ^-1, neutral: 0.03 A mg_Pt ^-1, alkaline: 0.07 A mg_Pt ^-1). Thus, Pt/CNT45 enhances HER not only in acidic solutions but also in neutral and alkaline solutions. Pt^δ+ at Pt-CNT interface on Pt/CNT45 promotes water (H₂O) dissociation and hydroxyl (OH) desorption from Pt/CNT45, thus enhancing HER. This work opens a new way for enhancing HER in a wider pH range by catalyst with low Pt content, and helpful for commercialization.

Keywords: H2: metal‐support interface; carbon nanotube; electrocatalysis; platinum.

Abstract

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