A silver catalyst activated by stacking faults for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Finding highly active and low-cost catalysts is a crucial endeavour to harvest clean hydrogen via electrochemical water splitting. Currently, the best catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction is based on metallic platinum whose high price severely restricts large-scale application. Here we report a silver catalyst with superior activity and durability in an acid medium that outperforms commercial platinum on carbon, especially under high applied voltages. We adopt a physical technique—laser ablation in liquid—to generate a high density of stacking faults in silver nanoparticles. We find that the stacking faults can cause a low coordination number and high tensile strain, which jointly improve the adsorption energy and transform the non-active silver into a highly active catalyst. In light of the high activity, conductivity, durability and low price, the silver catalyst can serve as a promising alternative to commercial platinum on carbon for industrial application.