Preparation of Pt/Cu Alloy Catalyst and Its Hydrogen Evolution Performance in Electrolytic Water

Abstract

Abstract: In the face of the fossil energy crisis, hydrogen energy has attracted widespread attention because of its cleanness and efficiency. Therefore, hydrogen production by water electrolysis has become a new research upsurge. This research mainly focused on the synthesis, characterization and application of Pt/Cu alloy catalyst. Pt/Cu alloy was synthesized by solvothermal method. The composition, structure and morphology of Pt/Cu alloy were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, XPS, etc, to explore the relationship between its structure and performance. The catalytic performance of Pt/Cu alloy under different electrolyte were tested by electrochemical test system. In 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄, the initial overpotential of Pt/Cu alloy is 20.3 mV (at 10 mA·cm^-2) and the Tafel is 37.56 mV·dec^-1. At the same time, the initial overpotential and Tafel of Pt/Cu alloy are 35.0 mV (at 10 mA·cm^-2) and 52.12 mV·dec^-1respectively in 1 mol/L phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In addition, the initial overpotential and the Tafel of Pt/Cu alloy are 25.3 mV (at 10 mA·cm^-2) and 36.82 mV·dec^-1respectively in 1 mol/L KOH. It can be found that Pt/Cu alloy exhibits better catalytic performance in acidic electrolyte. Moreover, further experiments show that the Pt/Cu alloy catalyst has high electrocatalytic activity surface area (30.83 cm²) and good cycle stability in acidic electrolyte.

Key words: catalyst, Pt/Cu alloy, solvothermal method, water electrolysis, hydrogen evolution reaction

CLC Number:

LI Yan, YANG Zhenfeng, FAN Yueyao, ZHANG Xiaoting. Preparation of Pt/Cu Alloy Catalyst and Its Hydrogen Evolution Performance in Electrolytic Water[J]. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2023, 52(8): 1500-1508.

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