Mesoporous PtPb Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution and Ethanol Oxidation

Using a one-pot hydrothermal method with ethylenediamine, we have synthesized mesoporous PtPb nanosheets that exhibit exceptional activity in both hydrogen evolution and ethanol oxidation. The resulting PtPb nanosheets have a Pt-enriched structure with up to 80 % atomic content of Pt. The synthetic method generated a significant mesoporous structure, formed through the dissolution of Pb species. These advanced structures enable the mesoporous PtPb nanosheets to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with an extreme low overpotential of 21 mV for hydrogen evolution under alkaline conditions. Furthermore, the mesoporous PtPb nanosheets exhibit superior catalytic activity and stability for ethanol oxidation. The highest catalytic current density of PtPb nanosheets is 5.66 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C. This research opens up new possibilities in designing mesoporous, two-dimensional noble-metal-based materials for electrochemical energy conversion with excellent performance.