Abstract
Ru is a key component of electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), especially in alkaline media. However, the catalytic activity and durability of Ru-based HER electrocatalysts are still far from satisfactory. Here we report a solvothermal approach for the synthesis of PdCuRu porous nanoplates with different Ru compositions by using Pd nanoplates as the seeds. The PdCuRu porous nanoplates were formed through underpotential deposition (UPD) of Cu on Pd, followed by alloying Cu with Pd through interdiffusion and galvanic replacement between Cu atoms and Ru precursor simultaneously. When evaluated as HER electrocatalysts, the PdCuRu porous nanoplates exhibited excellent catalytic activity and durability. Of them, the Pd24Cu29Ru47/C achieved the lowest overpotential (40.7 mV) and smallest Tafel slope (37.5 mV dec−1) in an alkaline solution (much better than commercial Pt/C). In addition, the Pd24Cu29Ru47/C only lost 17% of its current density during a stability test for 10 h, while commercial Pt/C had a 59.5% drop under the same conditions. We believe that the electron coupling between three metals, unique porous structure, and strong capability of Ru for water dissociation are responsible for such an enhancement in HER performance.
Highlights
We have developed a general and effective approach for the synthesis of Pt-based multimetallic ultrathin nanoplates with tunable thickness through epitaxial growth by using Pd nanoplates as the seeds [31]
16 mg of Pd(acac)2, 30 mg of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), 60 mg of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and 30 mg of Oxalic acid (OA) were dissolved in 10 mL of DMF and stirred for 1 h at room temperature
The Pd24 Cu29 Ru47 multimetallic nanoplates were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method in benzyl alcohol (BA) using Ru(acac)3 and Cu(acac)2 as metal precursors under an inert atmosphere with Pd nanoplates as the seeds
Summary
Ongoing global warming and energy crisis issues arising from the overuse of fossil fuels have prompted scientists to urgently search for clean and sustainable alternative energy sources [1,2,3]. In this regard, molecular hydrogen (H2 ) is considered to be the most promising candidate due to its high-energy density without pollutant emission [4,5]. The production of H2 in the industry today still comes from the steam methane reforming process and requires high-energy input and a large amount of CO2 emission [6,7]
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