Platinum-nickel alloy excavated nano-multipods with hexagonal close-packed structure and superior activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28436494.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms15131 and PMC identifier 5413976.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Crystal phase regulations may endow materials with enhanced or new functionalities. However, syntheses of noble metal-based allomorphic nanomaterials are extremely difficult, and only a few successful examples have been found. Herein, we report the discovery of hexagonal close-packed Pt-Ni alloy, despite the fact that Pt-Ni alloys are typically crystallized in face-centred cubic structures. The hexagonal close-packed Pt-Ni alloy nano-multipods are synthesized via a facile one-pot solvothermal route, where the branches of nano-multipods take the shape of excavated hexagonal prisms assembled by six nanosheets of 2.5 nm thickness. The hexagonal close-packed Pt-Ni excavated nano-multipods exhibit superior catalytic property towards the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolyte. The overpotential is only 65 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode at a current density of 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, and the mass current density reaches 3.03 mA μgPt<sup>-1</sup> at -70 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode, which outperforms currently reported catalysts to the best of our knowledge.