Preparation of Pt/NC catalysts with different reducing agents for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

doi:10.16085/j.issn.1000-6613.2024-1733

Abstract

Abstract:

For supported platinum-carbon (Pt/C) electrocatalysts, achieving high activity while minimizing the platinum (Pt) loading is crucial for reducing the cost of hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Incorporating Pt into a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) support offers a viable strategy to decrease Pt loading, however, it remains a challenge to effectively reduce Pt metal ions to Pt nanoparticles and successfully deposite them onto NC supports. Herein, a series of Pt/NC-x (where x represents different reducing agents) electrocatalysts were synthesized through immersion method utilizing ascorbic acid, sodium borohydride, ethylene glycol and hydrogen as reducing agents, respectively. The morphology, phase structure and elemental distribution of synthesized Pt/NC-x electrocatalysts were systematically characterized through advanced analytical techniques. The results demonstrated that Pt metal ions were successfully reduced to nanoparticles with an average size of 2.19nm using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and distributed uniformly on the surface of the NC support, which significantly enhanced the active sites and improved the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER) activity of Pt/NC. Under alkaline conditions, the order of HER performance was Pt/NC-ascorbic acid>Pt/NC-sodium borohydride>Pt/NC-ethylene glycol>Pt/NC-hydrogen. Pt/NC-ascorbic acid exhibited exceptional HER performance, achieving a current density of 10mA/cm² at an overpotential of merely 75mV and keeping at least 35h. This research provided new insights into developing highly active yet cost-effective for hydrogen production via water electrolysis.

Key words: electrochemistry, hydrogen production, catalyst, nitrogen-doped carbon support, platinum nanoparticles, ascorbic acid

摘要：

对于负载型铂碳（Pt/C）电催化剂，保持高活性的同时减少铂（Pt）的负载量是降低电解水制氢成本的关键。将Pt负载到氮掺杂碳（NC）载体中提供了一种降低Pt载量的策略，然而，如何将Pt金属离子还原成Pt纳米颗粒并稳定负载到NC载体上仍然存在挑战。本文分别使用抗坏血酸、硼氢化钠、乙二醇和氢气作还原剂，采用浸渍法合成了一系列Pt负载到NC载体上的催化剂（Pt/NC-x，x代表不同还原剂）。通过精细的表征技术，系统地剖析了Pt/NC-x催化剂的微观形貌、晶体结构、元素分布等特性，证实使用抗坏血酸作还原剂，成功制备了均匀分布于NC载体表面、平均粒径为2.19nm的Pt纳米颗粒，形成高密度活性位点，显著提升了Pt/NC的电催化析氢活性。电催化析氢性能顺序：Pt/NC-抗坏血酸>Pt/NC-硼氢化钠>Pt/NC-乙二醇>Pt/NC-氢气，其中Pt/NC-抗坏血酸展示了优异的析氢反应活性与稳定性，仅需75mV的过电位即可实现10mA/cm²电流密度，并稳定35h。

关键词: 电化学, 制氢, 催化剂, 氮掺杂碳载体, 铂纳米颗粒, 抗坏血酸

CLC Number:

TQ15

ZHENG Qian, CHENG Yanqian, ZHANG Yuanhua, WANG Ke, YU Fengshan, HUANG Guoyong. Preparation of Pt/NC catalysts with different reducing agents for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2025, 44(11): 6404-6412.

郑倩, 程言茜, 张袁华, 王珂, 郁丰善, 黄国勇. 还原剂对Pt/NC催化剂及电催化析氢性能的影响[J]. 化工进展, 2025, 44(11): 6404-6412.

Figures/Tables 10

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