Significant Enhancement of Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Activity by Negatively Charged Pt through Light Doping of W

Abstract

We report novel PtW solid-solution nanoparticles (NPs) produced through electrochemical cleaning of core/shell PtW@WO₃ NPs. The resulting PtW NPs achieved a record hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance as a class of Pt-based solid-solution alloys. A current density of 10 mA cm^-2 was reached with an overpotential of 19.4 mV, which is significantly lower than that of a commercial Pt catalyst (26.3 mV). The PtW NPs also exhibited long-term stability. Theoretical calculations revealed that negatively charged Pt atoms adjacent to a W atom provide favorable hydrogen adsorption energies for the HER, realizing significantly enhanced HER activity.