Pt─O Bond Accelerated Cu 0 /Cu + Activity for Boosting Low-Energy Bipolar Hydrogen Production.

To address the imperative challenge of producing hydrogen in a low-energy consumption electrocatalytic system, this study emphasizes the utilization of thermodynamically favorable biomass oxidation for achieving energy-efficient hydrogen generation. This research integrates ultralow PtO ₂ -loaded flower-like nanosheets (denoted as PtO ₂ @Cu ₂ O/Cu FNs) with Cu ⁰ /Cu ⁺ pairs and Pt─O bonds, thereby yielding substantial enhancement in both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, -0.042 V _RHE at 10 mA cm ^-2 ) and furfural oxidation reaction (FFOR, 0.09 V _RHE at 10 mA cm ^-2 ). As validated by DFT calculations, the dual built-in electric field (BIEF) is elucidated as the driving force behind the enhanced activities, in which Pt─O bonds expedite the HER, while Cu ⁺ /Cu ⁰ promotes low-potential FFOR. By coupling the FFOR and HER together, the resulting bipolar-hydrogen production system requires a low power input (0.5072 kWh per m ³ ) for producing H ₂ . The system can generate bipolar hydrogen and high value-added furoic acid, significantly enhancing hydrogen production efficiency and concurrently mitigating energy consumption.
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