Enhancing metal–support interaction by in situ ion-exchanging strategy for high performance Pt catalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Metal–support interaction (MSI) holds great promise for the development of heterogeneous catalysts. Accordingly, it is essential to implement facile methods to modulate MSI for the improvement of catalytic performance. In this study, an effective method is proposed to directly enhance MSI, wherein the electronic properties of Pt are altered by the ion-exchanging reaction of the support, affording incredible catalytic performance. Pt nanoparticles with 1.5 nm diameters are successfully deposited on a quasi-layered sodium titanate support via atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ion-exchanging reaction of the support between the Na-ions and H-ions in acidic media results in the transformation of the support structure, and further modulates the Pt local electronic structure. Such behaviour facilitates the enhancement of MSI offering highly active and stable Pt sites. The as-prepared catalyst exhibits much higher mass activity and long-term stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in comparison with Pt/TiO₂ and commercial Pt/C. The enhancement mechanism of MSI comes through the structural variation of the support, with modified charge transfer between the Pt and its support. Moreover, this new approach provides a facile and reliable path to develop advanced catalysts with enhanced MSI and motivates further research in many fields.