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Research Article

Cathodic corrosion as a facile and universal method for scalable preparation of powdery single atom electrocatalysts

Rui Li1, Xiayan Yan1, Meng Liu1, Qingkai Zhao1, Jie Du1, Xinxin Tan1, Jingwen Ba1, Rongguang Zeng1, Wenhua Luo1, Jingsong Xu2( )
Institute of Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Jiangyou 621907, China
Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Jiangyou 621908, China
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Graphical Abstract

We report a facile and universal cathodic corrosion strategy to access metal single atom catalysts via negative potential triggered atomic diffusion of metallic anions and following capture by nitrogen doped carbon carriers. The as-prepared Pt single atom catalysts exhibited a low overpotential of 0.024 V at 10 mA·cm2 toward hydrogen evolution reaction.

Abstract

Top-down strategy has been widely applied for synthesis of metal single atom catalysts (SACs) via converting metal nanoparticles or bulk metals into atomically dispersed species. Here, we report a simple electrochemical atomic migration strategy for top-down synthesis of SACs via a facile cathodic corrosion process without involving high temperature or harsh atmosphere. Atoms of metal nanoparticles on cathode are firstly disbanded under high negative voltage, and emitted into the electrolyte in the form of atomic metal anions in Zintl phase. The escaped atomically dispersed metal species are then oxidized by water molecules and captured by the defects on the pre-added nitrogen doped carbon carriers in the electrolyte. This cathodic corrosion strategy is confirmed to be suitable for scalable synthesis of kinds of metal SACs (e.g., Pt, Pd, and Ir) on doped carbon materials. Typically, the as-prepared nitrogen doped carbon powder supported Pt SACs exhibit superior catalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with a low overpotential of 0.024 V at 10 mA·cm−2 and a low Tafel slope of 29.7 mV·dec−1 as well as a long-term durability.

Keywords

cathodic corrosiontop-down strategypowdery single atom catalystshydrogen evolution reactionscalable synthesis

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Nano Research
Volume 17 Issue 6,
June 2024
Pages 4943-4950
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-024-6497-5
Cite this article:
Li R, Yan X, Liu M, et al. Cathodic corrosion as a facile and universal method for scalable preparation of powdery single atom electrocatalysts. Nano Research, 2024, 17(6): 4943-4950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-024-6497-5
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Received: 21 November 2023
Revised: 10 January 2024
Accepted: 18 January 2024
Published: 07 February 2024
© Tsinghua University Press 2024
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