Mechanochemical Synthesis of Pt/Nb2CTx MXene Composites for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Xiaoyuan Fan,Kai Huang,Yonggang Wang,Dongyu Fan,Xiaoxuan Ma,Peng Du,Ruyue Wang,Bohan Deng,Jingteng Ma,Yuanzheng Long,Hui Wu

doi:10.3390/ma14092426

Xiaoyuan Fan, Kai Huang + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092426

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Abstract

Production of hydrogen from water splitting has been considered as a promising solution for energy conversion and storage. Since a noble metal-based structure is still the most satisfactory but scarce kind of catalyst, it is significant to allow for practical application of such catalysts by engineering the heterogeneous structure and developing green and facile synthetic strategies. Herein, we report a mechanochemical ball milling synthesis of platinum nanoclusters immobilized on a 2D transition metal carbide MXene (Nb2CTx) as an enhanced catalyst for hydrogen evolution. After annealing at 600 °C, ultrafine Pt3Nb nanoclusters are formed on the Pt/Nb2CTx catalyst. As prepared, the Pt/Nb2CTx-600 catalyst demonstrates superior electrochemical HER activity and stability with an ultralow overpotential of 5 mV and 46 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively, in comparison with other Nb2CTx-based catalysts and commercial Pt/C catalysts. Moreover, the remarkable durability is also confirmed by accelerated durability tests (ADTs) and long-term chronoamperometry (CA) tests. The excellent HER performance was attributed to high Pt dispersion and more active site exposure by the mechanochemical process and thermal treatment. Such results suggest that the mechanochemical strategy provides a novel approach for rational design and cost-effective production of electrocatalysts, also providing other potential applications in a wide range of areas.

Highlights

State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials, Science and Engineering, These authors contribute to this work
We employed ethanol with slow reduction kinetics to guarantee that the H2 PtCl6 precursor was chemically reduced into relatively small sized nanostructures and adequately combined with the Nb2 CTx substrate [29]
The solution of H2 PtCl6 and Nb2 CTx was directly transferred into a corundum tank for further ball milling at room temperature

Summary

Introduction

State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials, Science and Engineering, These authors contribute to this work. Since a noble metal-based structure is still the most satisfactory but scarce kind of catalyst, it is significant to allow for practical application of such catalysts by engineering the heterogeneous structure and developing green and facile synthetic strategies. We report a mechanochemical ball milling synthesis of platinum nanoclusters immobilized on a 2D transition metal carbide MXene (Nb2 CTx ) as an enhanced catalyst for hydrogen evolution. After annealing at 600 ◦ C, ultrafine Pt3 Nb nanoclusters are formed on the Pt/Nb2 CTx catalyst. The excellent HER performance was attributed to high Pt dispersion and more active site exposure by the mechanochemical process and thermal treatment

Methods

Results

Conclusion