TY - JOUR
T1 - Making the hydrogen evolution reaction in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysers even faster
AU - Tymoczko, Jakub
AU - Calle-Vallejo, Federico
AU - Schuhmann, Wolfgang
AU - Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support from SFB 749, the cluster of excellence Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC 1069) funded by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and in the framework of Helmholtz-Energie-Allianz ‘Statio-näre elektrochemische Speicher und Wandler’ (HA-E-0002) is gratefully acknowledged. F.C.V. acknowledges funding by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Veni project number 722.014.009. The Stichting Nationale Computerfaciliteiten (NCF) is acknowledged for the use of their supercomputer facilities, with financial support from NWO.
PY - 2016/3/10
Y1 - 2016/3/10
N2 - Although the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the fastest electrocatalytic reactions, modern polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysers require larger platinum loadings (∼0.5-1.0 mg cm-2) than those in PEM fuel cell anodes and cathodes altogether (∼0.5 mg cm-2). Thus, catalyst optimization would help in substantially reducing the costs for hydrogen production using this technology. Here we show that the activity of platinum(111) electrodes towards HER is significantly enhanced with just monolayer amounts of copper. Positioning copper atoms into the subsurface layer of platinum weakens the surface binding of adsorbed H-intermediates and provides a twofold activity increase, surpassing the highest specific HER activities reported for acidic media under similar conditions, to the best of our knowledge. These improvements are rationalized using a simple model based on structure-sensitive hydrogen adsorption at platinum and copper-modified platinum surfaces. This model also solves a long-lasting puzzle in electrocatalysis, namely why polycrystalline platinum electrodes are more active than platinum(111) for the HER.
AB - Although the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the fastest electrocatalytic reactions, modern polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysers require larger platinum loadings (∼0.5-1.0 mg cm-2) than those in PEM fuel cell anodes and cathodes altogether (∼0.5 mg cm-2). Thus, catalyst optimization would help in substantially reducing the costs for hydrogen production using this technology. Here we show that the activity of platinum(111) electrodes towards HER is significantly enhanced with just monolayer amounts of copper. Positioning copper atoms into the subsurface layer of platinum weakens the surface binding of adsorbed H-intermediates and provides a twofold activity increase, surpassing the highest specific HER activities reported for acidic media under similar conditions, to the best of our knowledge. These improvements are rationalized using a simple model based on structure-sensitive hydrogen adsorption at platinum and copper-modified platinum surfaces. This model also solves a long-lasting puzzle in electrocatalysis, namely why polycrystalline platinum electrodes are more active than platinum(111) for the HER.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960906783&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/ncomms10990
DO - 10.1038/ncomms10990
M3 - Article
C2 - 26960565
AN - SCOPUS:84960906783
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 7
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 10990
ER -
