Interface engineering of crystalline/amorphous Pt/TeOx nanocapsules for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an important process in electrochemical energy technology, and efficient electrocatalysts are of great significance for renewable and sustainable energy conversion. Here, we report a facile hydrothermal and heat treatment process to synthesize a series of Pt-based nanocapsules (NCs) as an effective hydrogen evolution catalyst. The Pt/TeO x NCs exhibit excellent HER activity in an alkaline medium. The Pt/TeO x NCs only need the overpotential of 33 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm−2, and the Tafel slope was as low as 29 mV dec−1, which was even better than that of commercial Pt/C. Detailed experimental characterizations demonstrate that the interface between the crystalline Pt/amorphous TeO x and the strong electron transfer contribute to alkaline HER activity. This work opens up a new direction for the preparation of efficient catalysts for electrocatalytic reactions or other conversion filed. The Pt/TeO x NCs with Pt clusters anchored on TeO x amorphous substrate were successfully prepared. The overpotential was only 33 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and the Tafel slope was as low as 29 mV dec−1, which was significantly better than that of commercial Pt/C. The excellent HER performance may originate from the strong electronic interaction and optimized binding energy for intermediate. [Display omitted] • The Pt/TeO x NCs with Pt clusters anchored on TeO x amorphous substrate is reported. • The Pt/TeO x NCs exhibit excellent HER activity with low overpotential in 0.1 M KOH. • The presence of Pt-TeO x interface is conducive to improving alkaline HER activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]