By providing dual active sites to synergistically accelerate H2 O dissociation and H+ reduction, ordered intermetallic alloys usually show extraordinary performance for pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, activated N-doped mesoporous carbon spheres supported intermetallic Pt3 Fe alloys (Pt3 Fe/NMCS-A), as a highly-efficient electrocatalyst for pH-universal HER, are reported. The Pt3 Fe/NMCS-A exhibits low overpotentials (η10 ) of 13, 29, and 48 mV to deliver 10 mA cm-2 in 0.5 m H2 SO4 , 1.0 m KOH, and 1.0 m phosphate buffered solution (PBS), respectively, as well as robust stability to maintain the overall catalytic performances. Theoretical studies reveal that the strong Pt 5d-Fe 3d orbital electronic interactions negatively shift the d-band center (εd ) of Pt 5d orbital, resulting in reduced H* adsorption energy of Pt sites and enhanced acidic HER activity. With Pt and Fe acting as co-adsorption sites for H* and *OH intermediates, respectively, a low energy barrier is required for Pt3 Fe/NMCS-A to dissociate H2 O to afford H* intermediates, which greatly promotes the H* adsorption and H2 formation in alkaline and neutral conditions. The synthetic strategy is further extended to the synthesis of Pt3 Co and Pt3 Ni alloys with excellent HER activity in pH-universal electrolytes, demonstrating the great potential of these Pt-based alloys for practical applications.
Keywords: d-band center; hydrogen evolution reaction; intermetallic Pt3Fe alloys; pH-universal electrolytes; strong d-d orbital electronic interactions.
© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.