Carbon-Defect-Driven Electroless Deposition of Pt Atomic Clusters for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Pt atomic clusters (Pt-ACs) display outstanding electrocatalytic performance because of their unique electronic structure with a large number of highly exposed surface atoms. However, the small size and large specific surface area intrinsically associated with ACs pose challenges in the synthesis and stabilization of Pt-ACs without agglomeration. Herein, we report a novel one-step carbon-defect-driven electroless deposition method to produce ultrasmall but well-defined and stable Pt-ACs supported by defective graphene (Pt-AC/DG) structures. A theoretical simulation clearly revealed that the defective regions with a lower work function and hence a higher reducing capacity compared to those of normal hexagonal sites triggered the reduction of Pt ions preferentially at the defect sites. Moreover, the strong binding energy between Pt and carbon defects effectively restricted the migration of spontaneously reduced Pt atoms to immobilize/stabilize the resultant Pt-ACs. Electrochemical analyses demonstrated the high performance of Pt-ACs in catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction, showing a greatly enhanced mass activity, a high Pt utilization efficiency, and excellent stability compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts. The integration of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis with Pt-AC/DG as a cathode exhibited an excellent hydrogen generation activity and extraordinary stability (during 200 h of electrolysis) with a greatly reduced Pt usage compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts.