Edge-Effect Modulated Noble Metal Electrocatalysts for Efficient and pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

The catalytic activity of metal nanoparticles is closely pertinent to the substrate, while the influence of the support on the catalytic activity is acquainted scarcely. Herein, the edge selective decoration of noble metal nanoparticles into an edge-rich carbon foam (CF) matrix for efficient pH-universal hydrogen evolution (HER) reaction is reported. The highly localized density of states of the graphene edges enables increased reactivity to noble metal nanoparticles and tunes their electronic states. As expected, the Pt nanoparticles decorated on CF (Pt NPs@CF) exhibit low overpotentials (eta 10) of only 35, 49, and 53 mV under acidic, alkaline, and neutral conditions, respectively. Moreover, it can deliver the ampere-level current density of 1000 mA cm-2 with an overpotential of 97 mV in acidic solutions. Above all, the other noble metal NPs decorated on CF also possess efficient pH-universal HER performance. This work presents a new avenue for developing high-activity electrocatalysts via support engineering. The formation of the edge-effect in Pt NPs@CF reverses the charge to produce electron-rich platinum species, thus adjusting the d-band center and optimizing the hydrogen adsorption free energy. Meanwhile, the strategy is suitable for the synthesis of various noble metal nano-catalysts and equips them with outstanding hydrogen evolution activity under various pH conditions. image