Stable hydrogen evolution catalysis: Nitrogen-carbon-stabilized platinum on a microporous carbon-based framework

Hydrogen produced from water electrolysis powered by renewable energy is an environmentally friendly fuel. However, the wide commercialization of water electrolysis is hindered by the high cost and low stability of the state-of-the-art Pt/C electrocatalysts. In this work, interconnected 3D carbon-based framework with a microporous configuration supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/rGO1-FHCNs4) was proposed, and exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity and stability towards hydrogen evolution. The strong metal-N interactions between Pt nanoparticles and the functionalized support kept Pt nanoparticles in a well dispersed state and modified the electron structure of platinum nanoparticles during HER. The three-dimensional structure of carbon-based supports enhanced the access of active sites to reactant. The graphene contributed to the conductivity of the catalysts. In addition, the hollow structure of the carbon support act as an efficient nano spacer and a cross-linker for the 3D assembly of graphene due to electrostatic interaction. This work provides the approaches to fabricate metal nanoparticle/3D carbon-based support composites with potential applications as high performance electrocatalysts.