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Nano Research 2024, 17(6): 4711-4719 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6359-6
Research Article | Issue | Published: 05 March 2024

Edge dislocation-induced strains break the limit of PtNi alloys in boosting Pt mass activity for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution

Show Author's Information Miao Zhou1,  Yao Zhao2,  Zhanwei Liu2( ),  Xueru Zhao3( ),  Enzuo Liu4( ),  Liyang Xiao1,  Pengfei Yin1,  Cunku Dong1,  Hui Liu1,  Xiwen Du1,  Jing Yang1( )
New Energy Materials Institute, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
Advanced Metallic Materials Institute, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Keywords:
hydrogen evolution reaction, water dissociation, strain effects, edge dislocations, PtNi composition
Topics:
ElectrocatalystsHydrogen evolution reaction
Cite this article:
Zhou M, Zhao Y, Liu Z, et al. Edge dislocation-induced strains break the limit of PtNi alloys in boosting Pt mass activity for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution. Nano Research, 2024, 17(6): 4711-4719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6359-6
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Creating lattice defects and alloying to produce strain effect in Pt-based bimetallic alloys are both effective methods to optimize the crystal and electronic structure and improve the electrocatalytic performance. Unfortunately, the principles that govern the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance remain unclear, which is detrimental to the rational design of efficient Pt-based electrocatalysts. Herein, PtNi alloys with different Pt/Ni ratios and edge dislocations were synthesized, and the effects of Pt/Ni composition and edge dislocations on the alkaline HER electrocatalytic activity of PtNi alloys were systematically studied. Combined experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that tuning Pt/Ni ratio results in only 1.1 times enhancements in Pt mass activity, whereas edge dislocations-induced extra tensile strain on Ni site and compressive strain on Pt site further boost the alkaline HER intrinsic activity at all Pt/Ni ratios. Impressively, the introduction of edge dislocations in PtNi alloys could break the limit of alloying in boosting Pt mass activity and result in up to 13.7-fold enhancement, in the case that Pt and Ni contents are nearly identical and thus edge dislocation density reaches the maximum. Fundamental mechanism studies demonstrate that the edge dislocation strategy could make a breakthrough in facilitating water dissociation kinetics of PtNi alloys.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Edge dislocation-induced strains break the limit of PtNi alloys in boosting Pt mass activity for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution

Show Author's information Miao Zhou1, Yao Zhao2, Zhanwei Liu2( ), Xueru Zhao3( ), Enzuo Liu4( ), Liyang Xiao1, Pengfei Yin1, Cunku Dong1, Hui Liu1, Xiwen Du1, Jing Yang1( )
New Energy Materials Institute, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
Advanced Metallic Materials Institute, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Abstract

Creating lattice defects and alloying to produce strain effect in Pt-based bimetallic alloys are both effective methods to optimize the crystal and electronic structure and improve the electrocatalytic performance. Unfortunately, the principles that govern the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance remain unclear, which is detrimental to the rational design of efficient Pt-based electrocatalysts. Herein, PtNi alloys with different Pt/Ni ratios and edge dislocations were synthesized, and the effects of Pt/Ni composition and edge dislocations on the alkaline HER electrocatalytic activity of PtNi alloys were systematically studied. Combined experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that tuning Pt/Ni ratio results in only 1.1 times enhancements in Pt mass activity, whereas edge dislocations-induced extra tensile strain on Ni site and compressive strain on Pt site further boost the alkaline HER intrinsic activity at all Pt/Ni ratios. Impressively, the introduction of edge dislocations in PtNi alloys could break the limit of alloying in boosting Pt mass activity and result in up to 13.7-fold enhancement, in the case that Pt and Ni contents are nearly identical and thus edge dislocation density reaches the maximum. Fundamental mechanism studies demonstrate that the edge dislocation strategy could make a breakthrough in facilitating water dissociation kinetics of PtNi alloys.

Keywords: hydrogen evolution reaction, water dissociation, strain effects, edge dislocations, PtNi composition

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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 23 October 2023
Revised: 20 November 2023
Accepted: 21 November 2023
Published: 05 March 2024
Issue date: June 2024

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© Tsinghua University Press 2024

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51822106).

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