Tailoring carbon supports for high-stability platinum-based catalysts in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis

Platinum-based catalysts are the best performing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) for producing green hydrogen. Thus, developing Pt-based catalysts with high HER activity and stability is critical to promote the widespread application of PEMWE. Here, A series of Pt-based catalysts on different modified-carbon supports (Vulcan XC-72, Vulcan XC-72R, Ketjenblack EC-300J, and Ketjenblack EC-600JD) were prepared via a facile and efficient urea-assisted one-pot synthetic strategy. A systematic study and comparison with commercial catalysts were performed to elucidate the effect of the support on the catalyst properties through comprehensive physicochemical characterization and electrochemical evaluation. The resulting Pt/C600J catalyst exhibits excellent activity and stability for acidic hydrogen evolution reaction, which achieves an overpotential of 10 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and 18 mV after 20,000 CV. Notably, the Pt/C600J exhibited higher performance than commercial catalysts in a proton exchange membrane water electrolysis device, with a voltage of 1.79 V at a current density of 2 A/cm2. The device operated stably at 2 A/cm2 for 300 h without significant voltage increase, which is promising for PEMWE applications. These results provide guidance for the selection of carbon support for Pt-based catalysts and the development of advanced water electrolysis catalysts.