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Aligned porous carbon film with ultralow loadings of Pt single atoms and clusters for high-current-density hydrogen generation

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Abstract

The development of electrocatalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high-current-density capability is critical for the practical application of water splitting for hydrogen production. While Pt-based materials are regarded as the most efficient HER catalysts, they suffer from scarcity and high price. Thus, it is of vital importance to lower the loading of Pt while maintaining high activity. Here, we report the fabrication of a monolithic aligned porous carbon film electrode co-modified with Pt single atoms and Pt nanoclusters (Pt SA/NC-AF) containing ultralow Pt content (0.038 wt.%) via a facile electrochemical deposition process. Benefiting from the aligned porous structure of the carbon film and the high exposure of the Pt species, the optimized Pt SA/NC-AF electrode exhibits outstanding HER performance in 0.5 M H2SO4 with exceptional intrinsic activity (turnover frequency (TOF) = 904.9 s−1 at η = 100 mV) and ultrahigh mass activity (888.6 A·mgPt−1 at · = 100 mV). Further, it can deliver an industrially relevant current density of 1,000 mA·cm−2 at an overpotential as low as 139 mV. This work provides a feasible avenue for the rational design of metal single-atom and nanocluster catalysts and additionally promotes the application of ultralow-loading noble metal-based catalysts in high-rate hydrogen production.

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Acknowledgements

H. F. acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51902099 and 92163116), Functamental Research Functs for the Central Universities (No. 531119200087), and the Innovative Research Groups of Hunan Province (No. 2020JJ1001). G. Y. acknowledges support from the Hunan Province Natural Science Foundation (No. 2020JJ4204).

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  1. Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Rui Liu, Zhichao Gong, Minmin Yan, Gonglan Ye & Huilong Fei

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  1. Rui Liu
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  2. Zhichao Gong
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  3. Minmin Yan
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Correspondence to Gonglan Ye or Huilong Fei.

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12274_2022_4749_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Aligned porous carbon film with ultralow loadings of Pt single atoms and clusters for high-current-density hydrogen generation

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Liu, R., Gong, Z., Yan, M. et al. Aligned porous carbon film with ultralow loadings of Pt single atoms and clusters for high-current-density hydrogen generation. Nano Res. 16, 256–263 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4749-9

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