An efficient and stable Low-Pt catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction in acid

The design of support materials with uniformly anchored sites is crucial for controlling the particle size distribution of platinum (Pt) and enhancing the performance of Pt-based hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. Cobalt Metal-Organic Framework (Co-MOF)-derived carbon is a promising support for anchoring Pt nanoparticles. However, transition metal sites in Co-MOF tend to aggregate during the carbonization process. Herein, we have developed a strategy to achieved the in-situ reduction of cobalt sites by pre-treating Co-MOF in a reducing atmosphere, resulting in the hydrogen-reduced cobalt-modified nitrogen-doped carbon (Co@NOC-H 2 ) support material. As a result, a low-Pt catalyst (PtCo@NOC-H 2 ) with uniform distribution nanoscale particle size has been developed. Compared to the Co-MOF material pretreated in an nitrogen atmosphere (Co@NOC-N 2 ), Co@NOC-H 2 exhibited uniformly dispersed cobalt-platinum nanoparticles (CoPt NPs), which contributes to enhanced catalytic activity and stability in acidic media. Electrochemical measurements show that the PtCo@NOC-H 2 catalyst with a low-Pt loading (0.05 mg Pt cm −2 ) demonstrates excellent performance, with an overpotential of only 16.7 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 and a Tafel slope of 37.5 mV dec −1 . Furthermore, it maintains stable performance with no significant degradation after 156 h of cycling. This study provided a feasible approach for developing cost-effective low-Pt catalysts.