B4C enhances the supported platinum DER/HER performance

Abstract

The high energy barrier of D–O bond breakage leads to a slow kinetic reaction rate in the electrocatalytic deuterium evolution reaction (DER). Therefore, the platinum–carbon catalyst (Pt/C) shows unsatisfactory performance in the DER. Here, Pt/B₄C catalysts were constructed via the strong metal support interaction (SMSI) between boron carbide (B₄C) and platinum (Pt). The SMSI influenced the electronic structure and dispersion of Pt, resulting in a higher degree of Pt dispersion on B₄C with stronger electronegativity, and Pt/B₄C thus exhibited better DER/HER performance than Pt/C in acidic and basic solutions. The overpotential was only 48 mV (11 mV) and 47 mV (31 mV) when the current density was 10 mA cm⁻² in 1 M NaOD (NaOH) and 0.5 M D₂SO₄ (H₂SO₄), respectively. The Pt/B₄C catalyst activity showed no decay after accelerated durability testing (ADT) and 100 hours of i–t stability testing. Density functional theory (DFT) suggests that the electron rearrangement between B₄C and metallic Pt leads to a stronger electronegativity of Pt, whereas the electron-deficient state of Pt can facilitate the dissociation of D₂O/H₂O and the resolution of D₂/H₂. This research provides a useful new guideline and reference for the preparation of high-performance DER/HER catalysts.