Electrosynthesis of Low Pt‐Loaded High Entropy Catalysts for Effective Hydrogen Evolution with Improved Acidic Durability

Abstract

The synergistic effect in multi‐metal electrocatalysts has gained attention as an efficient strategy for enhancing intrinsic electrocatalytic activities. In this study, a facile electrodeposition technique is used to synthesize a multi‐metal high entropy catalyst (HEC) for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen production. To boost the synergistic effect between noble metals and transition metals, the Pt ratio is controlled in a multi‐metal electrocatalyst system. The prepared Pt‐involved HEC (Pt‐HEC) exhibits a bamboo‐like morphology with uniformly distributed elements. The 2.5 mM Pt‐HEC has outstanding electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) among other Pt‐HECs, with a low overpotential of 70 mV and a Tafel slope value of 47 mV dec−1. Additionally, the Pt mass activity of the 2.5 mM Pt‐HEC is 5.6 times higher than commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst owing to the improved synergistic effect with an optimized Pt ratio. According to the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, the proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET) process occurs more quickly in the 2.5 mM Pt‐HEC electrocatalyst, confirming its smaller charge transfer resistance properties compared to those of the 5 and 1 mM Pt‐HEC. Therefore, HEC systems can be extensively encouraged as a platform for improving synergistic effects and enhancing electrocatalytic activities for a highly efficient HER electrocatalyst.