Open Access

ARTICLE

Self-Supported Nanoporous Gold with Gradient Tin Oxide for Sustainable and Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Neutral Media

by Xianglong Lu, Tianshui Yu, Hailing Wang, Ruichun Luo, Pan Liu, Songliu Yuan, Lihua Qian

1 School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
2 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China

* Corresponding Author: Lihua Qian. Email:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2020, 8(2), 133-151. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.08650

Received 19 September 2019; Accepted 14 October 2019; Issue published 01 February 2020

Abstract

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in neutral medium suffers from slow kinetics as compared to that in alkaline or acidic conditions, owing to larger Ohmic loss and low proton concentration. Here we report that a self-supported nanoporous Au-SnO_x (NP Au-SnO_x) catalyst with gradient tin oxide surface could significantly enhance HER activity in neutral buffer solution (0.2 M PBS). The NP Au-SnO_x catalyst exhibits a low onset overpotential of 38 mV and a small Tafel slope of 79 mV dec⁻¹ . The current density of 10 mA cm⁻² is manifested at an overpotential as low as 148 mV, representing the comparable performance of Pt/C catalyst. This high catalytic activity can retain at least 10 hours without any detectable decay. The superior HER activity is proposed to originate from the gradient SnO_x structure and metal/oxide interfaces in nanoporous ligaments. Furthermore, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the gradient oxide in the ligament is remarkably stable during long-term reaction.

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