Self-Supporting Electrode Fabricated by Flowing Synthesis for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

In order to achieve a balance between a good hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance and a low amount of catalyst loading, Pt@Ti membrane self-supporting electrodes have been fabricated by flowing synthesis. The characterizations by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrate the successful loading of Pt nanoparticles into the pores of a porous Ti membrane substrate. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) results demonstrate that the sizes of the Pt nanoparticles immobilized in Ti membrane pores are mostly in the range of 10-40 nm, and the average size was about 26 nm. The ICP test proves that the amount of Pt loading was only 0.760 mg cm-2. A minimum overpotential of 35 mV and a minimum Tafel slope of 30 mV dec-1 can be achieved for a Pt@Ti membrane self-supporting electrode at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with 0.5 M H2SO4 as the electrolyte. No decay of current density is observed after a 10 h continuous electrolytic test. Besides, good HER performances can also be obtained under alkaline conditions and neutral conditions for Pt@Ti membrane self-supporting electrodes fabricated by flowing synthesis.