Single-Atom Cr–N4 Sites with High Oxophilicity Interfaced with Pt Atomic Clusters for Practical Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis

Although dispersing Pt atomic clusters (ACs) on a conducting support is a promising way to minimize the Pt amount required in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the catalytic mass activity and durability of Pt ACs are often unsatisfactory for alkaline HER due to their unfavorable water dissociation and challenges in stabilizing them against agglomeration and detachment. Herein, we report a class of single-atom Cr–N4 sites with high oxophilicity interfaced with Pt ACs on mesoporous carbon for achieving a highly active and stable alkaline HER in an anion-exchange-membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE). The as-made catalyst achieves the highest reported Pt mass activity (37.6 times higher than commercial Pt/C) and outstanding operational stability. Experimental and theoretical studies elucidate that the formation of a unique Pt–Cr quasi-covalent bonding interaction at the interface of Cr–N4 sites and Pt ACs effectively suppresses the migration and thermal vibration of Pt atoms to stabilize Pt ACs and contributes to the greatly enhanced catalytic stability. Moreover, oxophilic Cr–N4 sites adjacent to Pt ACs with favorable adsorption of hydroxyl species facilitate nearly barrierless water dissociation and thus enhance the HER activity. An AEMWE using this catalyst (with only 50 μgPt cm–2) can operate stably at an industrial-level current density of 500 mA cm–2 at 1.8 V for >100 h with a small degradation rate of 90 μV h–1.