Moving beyond Ti2C3Tx MXene to Pt-Decorated TiO2@TiC Core-Shell via Pulsed Laser in Reshaping Modification for Accelerating Hydrogen Evolution Kinetics

Chae Eun Park; Gyoung Hwa Jeong; Jayaraman Theerthagiri; Hyeyeon Lee; Myong Yong Choi

doi:10.1021/acsnano.2c12638

Moving beyond Ti₂C₃T_x MXene to Pt-Decorated TiO₂@TiC Core-Shell via Pulsed Laser in Reshaping Modification for Accelerating Hydrogen Evolution Kinetics

ACS Nano. 2023 Apr 25;17(8):7539-7549. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.2c12638. Epub 2023 Mar 6.

Authors

Chae Eun Park¹, Gyoung Hwa Jeong², Jayaraman Theerthagiri¹, Hyeyeon Lee¹, Myong Yong Choi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry (BK21 FOUR), Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea.
² Core-Facility Center for Photochemistry & Nanomaterials, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 36876982
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c12638

Abstract

Phase engineering of nanocatalysts on specific facets is critical not only for enhancing catalytic activity but also for intensely understanding the impact of facet-based phase engineering on electrocatalytic reactions. In this study, we successfully reshaped a two-dimensional (2D) MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x) obtained by etching Ti₃AlC₂ MAX via a pulsed laser irradiation in liquid (PLIL) process. We produced a TiO₂@TiC core-shell structure in spheres with sizes of 200-350 nm, and then ∼2 nm ultrasmall Pt NPs were decorated on the surface of the TiO₂@TiC core-shell using the single-step PLIL method. These advances allow for a significant increase in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity under visible light illumination. The effect of optimal Pt loading on PLIL time was identified, and the resulting Pt/TiO₂@TiC/Pt-5 min sample demonstrated outstanding electrochemical and photoelectrochemical performance. The photoelectrochemical HER activity over Pt/TiO₂@TiC/Pt-5 min catalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 48 mV at 10 mA/cm² and an ultralow Tafel slope of 54.03 mV/dec with excellent stability of over 50 h, which is hydrogen production activity even superior to that of the commercial Pt/C catalysts (55 mV, 62.45 mV/dec). This investigation not only serves as a potential for laser-dependent phase engineering but also provides a reliable strategy for the rational design and fabrication of highly effective nanocatalysts.

Keywords: MXene; Pt-decorated TiO2@TiC core−shell; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; photoelectrochemical activity; pulsed laser irradiation.