Ni-ZIF-8@ZIF-67-Derived Bimetallic Doped Pt-Based Carbon Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract The development of highly active and stable electrocatalysts is a major challenge for water electrolysis. In this work, we designed bimetallic nitrogen-doped carbon (NiCo-NC) materials with excellent performance, which were pyrolyzed by the core-shell structure of Ni-ZIF-8@ZIF-67. Then, the low-Pt supported Pt@NiCo-NC catalyst was prepared by the impregnation liquid-phase reduction method. During the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the catalyst exhibited an overpotential of 31.1 mV and stability in an acidic medium at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. It is worth noting that the overpotential and Tafel slope of the catalyst are both smaller than commercial Pt/C, indicating high catalytic activity. The loading of commercial Pt/C (TKK, 46 wt%) on the electrode was 100 µg/cm2, while the loading of Pt@NiCo-NC-2 wt% was only 6.58 µg/cm2. The presence of bimetals and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) not only improve the hydrogen evolution activity of the catalyst, but also enhance the electrochemical stability. It can be expected that this work will provide important insights for studies based on catalyst supports and improving performance.