Carbon-Defect-Driven Electroless Deposition of Pt Atomic Clusters for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution
Abstract
Pt atomic clusters (Pt-ACs) display outstanding electrocatalytic performance because of their unique electronic structure with a large number of highly exposed surface atoms. However, the small size and large specific surface area intrinsically associated with ACs pose challenges in the synthesis and stabilization of Pt-ACs without agglomeration. Herein, we report a novel one-step carbon-defect-driven electroless deposition method to produce ultrasmall but well-defined and stable Pt-ACs supported by defective graphene (Pt-AC/DG) structures. A theoretical simulation clearly revealed that the defective regions with a lower work function and hence a higher reducing capacity compared to those of normal hexagonal sites triggered the reduction of Pt ions preferentially at the defect sites. Moreover, the strong binding energy between Pt and carbon defects effectively restricted the migration of spontaneously reduced Pt atoms to immobilize/stabilize the resultant Pt-ACs. Electrochemical analyses demonstrated the high performance of Pt-ACs in catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction, showing a greatly enhanced mass activity, a high Pt utilization efficiency, and excellent stability compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts. The integration of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis with Pt-AC/DG as a cathode exhibited an excellent hydrogen generation activity and extraordinary stability (during 200 h of electrolysis) with a greatly reduced Pt usage compared with commercial Pt/C ca…
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The binding energy of the Pt/DG model structure is higher than that of Pt/PG, indicating that the interaction between Pt species and carbon defects in the DG model structure is relatively strong.
“the binding energy of the Pt/DG model structure is higher than that of Pt/PG, indicating that the interaction between Pt species and carbon defects in the DG model structure is relatively strong [22].”
From Synergistic interaction of monodisperse Pt nanoparticles with defect‐rich graphene aerogel for efficient acidic hydrogen evolution (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
The work functions of the defect-rich graphene (DG) models are all lower than that of perfect graphene (PG), indicating that the carbon defects have a strong reducing ability.
“The study shows that the work functions of the defect-rich graphene (DG) models are all lower than that of perfect graphene (PG), indicating that the carbon defects have a strong reducing ability [22].”
From Synergistic interaction of monodisperse Pt nanoparticles with defect‐rich graphene aerogel for efficient acidic hydrogen evolution (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
Defect-rich GA shows high tolerance in electrolyte environments over a wide pH range, which enables the catalysts to perform stable catalysis.
“the defect-rich GA shows high tolerance in electrolyte environments over a wide pH range, which enables the catalysts to perform stable catalysis [22].”
From Synergistic interaction of monodisperse Pt nanoparticles with defect‐rich graphene aerogel for efficient acidic hydrogen evolution (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
Carbon defects can be used to catch and stabilize reaction products and to modulate Pt particle size and dispersion during the reaction.
“the carbon defects can be used to catch and stabilize reaction products and to modulate Pt particle size and dispersion during the reaction [22, 23]”
From Synergistic interaction of monodisperse Pt nanoparticles with defect‐rich graphene aerogel for efficient acidic hydrogen evolution (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
The Tafel slope of 30 mV dec−1 of LPWGA corresponds to a Volmer-Tafel process in which the rate-determining step is the desorption of hydrogen.
“corresponding to a Volmer-Tafel process, in which the rate-determining step is the desorption of hydrogen.[53–55]”
From Tungsten Oxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogel with Low‐Content Platinum as High‐Performance Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (2021) · cites this paper as [54]
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- Authors
- Cheng, Q., Hu, C., Wang, G., Zou, Z., Yang, H., & Dai, L.
- Affiliations
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Yang, Hui
- Dai, Liming
- Venue
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2020-02-23
- Volume
- 142
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 5594-5601
- ISSN
- 0002-7863 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5126
- OpenAlex
- W3007042320
- Cited by
- 303
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 17
- FWCI
- 8.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the American Chemical Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2017YFA0206500, 2018YFB1502400)
- Australian Research Council (DP 190103881, FL 190100126)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21533005, 21902177)
- Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (XDA21090400)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Fuel Cells and Related Materials
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Keywords
- electroless plating, carbon defects, defective graphene, hydrogen evolution reaction, electrocatalysis, Pt/C catalyst, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, catalyst stability, work function
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