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A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core-shell Pt-Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

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Abstract

Devising an electrocatalyst with brilliant efficiency and satisfactory durability for hydrogen production is of considerable demand, especially for large-scale application. Herein, we adopt a multi-step consequential induced strategy to construct a bifunctional electrocatalyst for the overall water splitting. Graphene oxide (GO) was used as a carbon matrix and in situ oxygen source, which was supported by the octahedral PtNi alloy to form the PtxNiy-GO precursor. When calcinating in Ar atmosphere, the oxygen in GO induced the surface segregation of Ni from the PtNi octahedron to form a core-shell structure of Ptx@Niy. Then, the surface-enriched Ni continuously induced the reformation of C in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to enhance the degree of graphitization. This multi-step induction formed a nanocatalyst Ptx@Niy-rGO which has very high catalytic efficiency and stability. By optimizing the feeding ratio of PtNi (Pt:Ni = 1:2), the electrolytic overall water splitting at 10 mA·cm−2 can be driven by an electrolytic voltage of as low as 1.485 V, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) only needs an overpotential of 37 mV in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. Additionally, the catalyst exhibited consistent existence form in both HER and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which was verified by switching the anode and cathode of the cell in the electrolysis of water. This work provides a new idea for the synthesis and evaluation of the bifunctional catalysts for water splitting.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21872020), 1226 Engineering Health Major Project (Nos. BWS17J028 and AWS16J018), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. N180705004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Wenjuan Xu, Yinggang Cheng, Hongqi Liu, Jifan Li, Zenan Hu, Xinyue Zhang, Yiming Wang & Hongbin Sun

  2. NanoScience Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32826, USA

    Jinfa Chang & Yang Yang

  3. Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yongjian Ai & Qionglin Liang

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  1. Wenjuan Xu
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  2. Jinfa Chang
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  11. Yang Yang
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Correspondence to Yang Yang or Hongbin Sun.

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A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core-shell Pt-Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

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Xu, W., Chang, J., Cheng, Y. et al. A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core-shell Pt-Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. Nano Res. 15, 965–971 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3582-x

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