Synergistic effect of nano-Pt and Ni spine for HER in alkaline solution: hydrogen spillover from nano-Pt to Ni spine

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 2986 - 9
• Main Authors: Abbas, Syed Asad, Kim, Seong-Hoon, Iqbal, Muhammad Ibrahim, Muhammad, Shoaib, Yoon, Won-Sub, Jung, Kwang-Deog
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14-02-2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 140/146; 639/166/898; 639/638/161/886; Absorption spectroscopy; Catalysts; Electrochemistry; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Nanoparticles; Photoelectron spectroscopy; Platinum; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spectrum analysis; Spine; Synergistic effect; Transmission electron microscopy; X-ray absorption spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; X-rays
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21396-9

The design of active, stable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts for the H
2
evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline conditions is important for electrochemical systems such as the chloro-alkaline process and H
2
production. Here we report catalysts comprising Pt on Ni single crystalline spines (Pt/Ni-SP) with high activity and stability for HER in alkaline solution with proposed mechanism. The Pt/Ni-SP catalysts are prepared by dispersing platinum nanoparticles (1.7–3.1 nm) on the single-crystalline spines (Ni-SP) of Ni urchin-like particles. The size and coverage of Pt nanoparticles on Ni-SP are increased with increases in the Pt loading amount. X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy are performed to observe the structure of the Pt/Ni-SP catalyst. The catalysts achieve the mass activity of 1.11 A mg
−1
(Pt)
, comparing favorably to Pt/C catalysts with the mass activity of 0.33 A mg
−1
(Pt)
at 0.05 V overpotential. The Tafel slope of the Pt/Ni-SP catalyst is approximately 30 mV dec
−1
, similar to that of Pt, while Pt/Ni-SP is very stable in alkaline solution, like Ni. The synergistic effect of Pt/Ni-SP is ascribed to H spillover from Pt to Ni.