One-Step Fabrication of Ultralow Pt Loading High Efficiency Proton Exchange Membrane for Water Electrolysis by Conventional E-Beam Metal Deposition

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is known as an effective and environmental-friendly method for hydrogen production. However, the process is hindered by the necessity of large loading of high-priced noble metals in the conventional approaches. To resolve this problem, a highly efficient Nafion-based catalyst and proton exchange system are developed, which only need ultralow platinum loading by direct e-beam evaporation deposition. Scanning electron microscopy is performed before and after the deposition, which reveals a very smooth morphology. By assembling the PEMWE device with above-mentioned cathode and conventional iridium black anode, the current density reaches 500 mA cm −2 with a platinum loading of only 0.00379 mg cm −2 at 1.64 V under 80 °C. A mass activity of ≈132 A mg −1 is achieved, which is one order of magnitude higher than previously reported results. Moreover, powered by a commercial silicon solar cell, it realizes a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency up to 8.26%. This work opens up an avenue of fabricating PEMWE with an ultralow catalyst loading, which may have enormous potential for future industrial scale applications.