Ultralow Pt Loading on CoFe Layered Double Hydroxides Achieves Superior Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution through Interfacial Synergistic Catalysis

Abstract

The development of efficient and cost-effective hydrogen evolution catalysts remains a key challenge for large-scale water splitting. Herein, we present a CoFe layered double hydroxide (LDH)-supported Pt nanocluster catalyst achieves exceptional alkaline hydrogen evolution performance with ultralow Pt loading (0.52 wt%). The catalyst shows remarkably low overpotentials of 26.86 and 138.56 mV at 10 and 100 mA·cm-2 in 1 M KOH, despite using ~38-fold less platinum compared to the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C. Comprehensive characterization reveals electronic metal-support interaction between Pt and the LDH support, which enhances the electrochemical performance through synergistic effects that improve both water dissociation and hydrogen evolution kinetics. The catalyst maintains stable performance for over 190 hours at 100 mA·cm-2, demonstrating excellent durability. When employed as a bifunctional catalyst, the Pt-CoFe LDH achieves overall water splitting with cell voltages of only 1.47 V and 1.84 V at 10 and 100 mA·cm-2, respectively. This work provides a facile and effective approach for developing high-performance hydrogen evolution catalysts with minimal noble metal usage.