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Nano Research 2022, 15(2): 965-971 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3582-x
Research Article | Issue | Published: 10 September 2021

A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core–shell Pt–Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Show Author's Information Wenjuan Xu1,  Jinfa Chang2,  Yinggang Cheng1,  Hongqi Liu1,  Jifan Li1,  Yongjian Ai3,  Zenan Hu1,  Xinyue Zhang1,  Yiming Wang1,  Qionglin Liang3,  Yang Yang2( ),  Hongbin Sun1( )
Department of Chemistry,Northeastern University,Shenyang,110819,China;
NanoScience Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education),Department of Chemistry, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,China;
Keywords:
graphene oxide, hydrogen evolution reaction, continuous induction, core–shell structured Pt@Ni, alkaline water splitting
Topics:
Hydrogen evolution reaction
Cite this article:
Xu W, Chang J, Cheng Y, et al. A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core–shell Pt–Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. Nano Research, 2022, 15(2): 965-971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3582-x
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Devising an electrocatalyst with brilliant efficiency and satisfactory durability for hydrogen production is of considerable demand, especially for large-scale application. Herein, we adopt a multi-step consequential induced strategy to construct a bifunctional electrocatalyst for the overall water splitting. Graphene oxide (GO) was used as a carbon matrix and in situ oxygen source, which was supported by the octahedral PtNi alloy to form the PtxNiy–GO precursor. When calcinating in Ar atmosphere, the oxygen in GO induced the surface segregation of Ni from the PtNi octahedron to form a core–shell structure of Ptx@Niy. Then, the surface- enriched Ni continuously induced the reformation of C in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to enhance the degree of graphitization. This multi-step induction formed a nanocatalyst Ptx@Niy–rGO which has very high catalytic efficiency and stability. By optimizing the feeding ratio of PtNi (Pt: Ni = 1:2), the electrolytic overall water splitting at 10 mA·cm−2 can be driven by an electrolytic voltage of as low as 1.485 V, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) only needs an overpotential of 37 mV in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. Additionally, the catalyst exhibited consistent existence form in both HER and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which was verified by switching the anode and cathode of the cell in the electrolysis of water. This work provides a new idea for the synthesis and evaluation of the bifunctional catalysts for water splitting.


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About this article

A multi-step induced strategy to fabricate core–shell Pt–Ni alloy as symmetric electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Show Author's information Wenjuan Xu1, Jinfa Chang2, Yinggang Cheng1, Hongqi Liu1, Jifan Li1, Yongjian Ai3, Zenan Hu1, Xinyue Zhang1, Yiming Wang1, Qionglin Liang3, Yang Yang2( ), Hongbin Sun1( )
Department of Chemistry,Northeastern University,Shenyang,110819,China;
NanoScience Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education),Department of Chemistry, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,China;

Abstract

Devising an electrocatalyst with brilliant efficiency and satisfactory durability for hydrogen production is of considerable demand, especially for large-scale application. Herein, we adopt a multi-step consequential induced strategy to construct a bifunctional electrocatalyst for the overall water splitting. Graphene oxide (GO) was used as a carbon matrix and in situ oxygen source, which was supported by the octahedral PtNi alloy to form the PtxNiy–GO precursor. When calcinating in Ar atmosphere, the oxygen in GO induced the surface segregation of Ni from the PtNi octahedron to form a core–shell structure of Ptx@Niy. Then, the surface- enriched Ni continuously induced the reformation of C in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to enhance the degree of graphitization. This multi-step induction formed a nanocatalyst Ptx@Niy–rGO which has very high catalytic efficiency and stability. By optimizing the feeding ratio of PtNi (Pt: Ni = 1:2), the electrolytic overall water splitting at 10 mA·cm−2 can be driven by an electrolytic voltage of as low as 1.485 V, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) only needs an overpotential of 37 mV in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. Additionally, the catalyst exhibited consistent existence form in both HER and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which was verified by switching the anode and cathode of the cell in the electrolysis of water. This work provides a new idea for the synthesis and evaluation of the bifunctional catalysts for water splitting.

Keywords: graphene oxide, hydrogen evolution reaction, continuous induction, core–shell structured Pt@Ni, alkaline water splitting

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 04 March 2021
Revised: 15 April 2021
Accepted: 08 May 2021
Published: 10 September 2021
Issue date: February 2022

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21872020), 1226 Engineering Health Major Project (Nos. BWS17J028 and AWS16J018), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. N180705004).

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