Re‐Dispersion of Platinum From CNTs Substrate to <i>α</i>‐MoC<sub>1 ‐ x</sub> to Boost the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Huizhu Cai, Li Wang, Wei Liu, Xiao Zhang, Bingbing Chen, Peiyuan Mao, Jiancong Fang, Rui Gao, Chuan Shi
Abstract
Abstract Developing high‐performance electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is important for clean and sustainable hydrogen energy, yet still challenging. Herein, an α‐MoC 1 ‐ x induced redispersing strategy to construct a superior HER electrocatalyst (Pt/CNTs‐N + α‐MoC 1 ‐ x ) by mechanical mixing of α‐MoC 1 ‐ x with Pt/CNTs‐N followed by thermal reduction is reported. It is found that thermo‐activation treatment enables partial Pt atoms to redisperse on α‐MoC 1 ‐ x substrate from carbon nanotubes, which creates dual active interfaces of Pt species dispersed over carbon nanotubes and α‐MoC 1 ‐ x . Benefiting from the strong electronic interaction between the Pt atom and α‐MoC 1 ‐ x , the utilization efficiency of the Pt atom and the zero‐valence state of Pt is evidently enhanced. Consequently, Pt/CNTs‐N + α‐MoC 1 ‐ x catalyst exhibits excellent HER activity with low overpotentials of 17 and 34 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in acidic and alkaline electrolytes, respectively. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the synergistic effect between Pt and α‐MoC 1 ‐ x makes it accessible for the dissociation of water molecules and subsequent desorption of hydrogen atoms. This work reveals the crucial roles of α‐MoC 1 ‐ x additives, providing practical solutions to enhance platinum dispersion, and thereby enhance the catalytic activity in HER.