Open Access
ARTICLE
Self-Supported Nanoporous Gold with Gradient Tin Oxide for Sustainable and Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Neutral Media
Xianglong Lu1, Tianshui Yu1, Hailing Wang1, Ruichun Luo2, Pan Liu2, Songliu Yuan1, Lihua Qian1,*
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.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Lu, X., Yu, T., Wang, H., Luo, R., Liu, P. et al. (2020). Self-Supported Nanoporous Gold with Gradient Tin Oxide for Sustainable and Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Neutral Media.
Journal of Renewable Materials, 8(2), 133–151. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.08650
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