Titanium dioxide supported low-loading platinum as efficient and durable electrocatalyst for acidic hydrogen evolution reaction

Low-cost and high-performance catalysts towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are essential in proton exchange membrane water electrolysers (PEMWE). Herein, an efficient and durable titanium dioxide supported low platinum-loading (TiO 2 -Pt) catalyst was fabricated. The prepared TiO 2 -Pt catalyst achieve an HER overpotential of 22 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and excellent durability performance in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 . Electron transfer from TiO 2 to Pt species and the presence of large amounts of proton on TiO 2 -Pt surface are verified, which facilitates the Heyrovsky step and promotes the HER activity of TiO 2 -Pt. The PEMWE with TiO 2 -Pt membrane electrode assemblies requires 1.65 V cell voltage to reach 1 A cm −2 and kept stable in 300 h continuous test. The electricity cost for hydrogen production by TiO 2 -Pt catalyst is below the US DOE requirements by 2026. This work provides a promising strategy for the synthesis of high-performance low Pt-loading HER catalysts for low-cost hydrogen production.