@article{Chang2026, 
author = {Yukun Chang and Xing Cheng and Guangshun Ran and Hui Song and Wenyuan Zhou and Jinshu Wang and Hongyi Li},
title = {Microstrain-induced modulation of electronic structure and adsorption energy for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {19},
number = {2},
pages = {94907938},
keywords = {microstrain, modulated the electronic structure, optimized adsorption energies, ultrafine ternary alloy, self-supported electrode},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94907938},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94907938},
abstract = {Inducing microstrain at atomic level within multicomponent Pt-based electrocatalysts, as well as the role of this microstrain in modulating the electronic structure and multi-site surface adsorption energies during hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), still remains unexplored. Herein, the localized microstrain had been designed in a novel kind of ultrafine PtMnZn ternary alloy, which were planted into the highly ordered TiO2 nanotube array to form the self-supported electrode with highly catalytic activity for splitting water both in acid and alkaline conditions. The obtained self-supported electrode exhibits a remarkable mass activity of 17.73 A·mgPt−1 in acid and 6.78 A·mgPt−1 in alkaline conditions, outperforming commercial Pt/C 44.32 and 61.64 times, respectively. In addition, the obtained self-electrodes possess superior long-term durability. Theoretical investigations reveal that the modulated electronic structure can shift the d-band center of multi metallic sites, resulting in lower |ΔG*H| of H adsorption on PtMnZn surface, as well as lower energy barrier to dissociate the H2O affording *H intermediates providing an acid microenvoirnment, which facilitates the H2 formation in alkaline conditions. This work induces distinct local microstrain in self-supported electrode, realizing optimized adsorption and enhancing electrochemical performances, which offers a promising strategy for designing novel high-performance self-supported electrode for hydrogen production.}
}