Low-Pt-loading electrocatalyst derived from the reduction of hydrogenated MoO3 for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

Pt-based catalysts are limited in applications greatly due to the scarcity and high cost of the platinum resource. Reducing the load of Pt and improving its utilization are effective strategies to solve the limitations of application for Pt-based catalysts. Herein, a hydrogenated MoO 3 (H x MoO 3 , 0 < x ≤ 2) is employed, which has electrical conductivity as well as reducing properties, to fabricate low-Pt-loading catalysts supported by a carbon cloth (CC) sheet for the hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Thanks to the single atoms of platinum, the as-prepared Pt/H x MoO 3 @CC catalyst exhibits excellent HER performances and the overpotential is only 53 mV at 10 mA/cm2. The proposed strategy for fabricating Pt-based single-atom catalysts could promote the practical application of the HER of water splitting in electrochemical processes. Catalyst with ultralow Pt loading supported by a carbon cloth can be fabricated by using an electrodeposition method combing with redox reactions. The as-prepared catalyst with ∼0.1 % Pt loading exhibits high HER performance. [Display omitted] • Carbon cloth sheets with uniform H x MoO 3 coatings are prepared by an electrodeposition method. • The reducibility of hydrogenated MoO 3 can achieve Pt loading in single-atom form. • Pt/H x MoO 3 @CC exhibits high HER performance due to the Pt single atoms loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]