One-step solution-induced impregnation synthesis of strongly coupled platinum–molybdenum/silicon carbide quantum dots heterostructures encapsulated on reduced graphene oxide sheet as electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Strongly coupled platinum-based transition-metal oxide/carbon hybrids and the development of quantum-dot structures of hybrid catalysts are cost-effective and maximize accessible active sites. However, a significant obstacle still exists for the rational proposal and simple synthesis of hybrid quantum-dot material catalysts. Herein, novel PtxMo1-xSiC quantum dots encapsulated in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) (PtxMo1-xSiC QDs @rGO) for catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) were fabricated through a simple solution-induced impregnation method. The optimized Pt5Mo95SiC QDs @rGO catalyst only require overpotentials of 18 mV and 25 mV to deliver current densities of 10 mA cm−2 and 250 mA cm−2 in acidic media, respectively. The synergistic effects of the inner PtxMo1-xSiC QDs networks and outer conductive rGO sheets that promote electron transfer are responsible for the outstanding HER performance. This work presents a novel method for producing an extremely effective HER catalyst for applications on large-scale.