Highly active atomically dispersed platinum-based electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction achieved by defect anchoring strategy

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) can achieve ultimate atomic utilization of precious metals to improve water splitting’s economy. However, active sites in SACs are usually insufficient. Therefore, we propose the use of porous Co1NC which is rich in defects as support to prepare Pt1/Co1NC by mild electrochemical reduction at room temperature. Pt1/Co1NC showed record-high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, with an overpotential of only 4.15 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Its mass activity reached 32.4 A mg−1Pt at an overpotential of 20 mV, which is 54 times that of Pt/C. The turnover frequency was up to 32.86 s−1 at 20 mV, with excellent stability in long-term service. Our strategy suggests that nitrogen/carbon defects are vital for anchoring&forming monodispersed Pt active sites while preventing agglomeration. These sites possess low energy barriers, as verified by theoretical simulations. Therefore, our method presents a technical breakthrough for reducing cost of hydrogen energy.