One-step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ultralow Pt Loading Ni(OH)2 for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

It is necessary and challenging to develop platinum-based electrocatalysts with low Pt content and high performance for industrial development in a suitable strategy. Herein, ultralow Pt (0.35 wt%) loading Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets (named as 2-Pt/Ni(OH) 2 ) with cataphracted structure is synthesized on nickel foam by one-step hydrothermal process. It only needs an overpotential of 34 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm -2 without any significant decrease for 40 hours. This excellent performance of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is attributed to the fact that the cataphracted structure not only has a larger active area and more active sites, but also effectively limits the size of Pt nanoparticles to 2~3 nm, which results in a higher active quality. In addition, the relatively simple and easily operational one-step method can reduce the Pt content to 0.35 wt% significantly. This facile strategy opens up new approaches in the rational design and synthesis of low loading Pt electrocatalysts with eminent electrocatalytic activity for industrial production.