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.