Rational Design of Atomic Layers of Pt Anchored on Mo₂C Nanorods for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution over a Wide pH Range

Transition metal carbide compound has been extensively investigated as a catalyst for hydrogenation, for example, due to its noble metal-like properties. Herein a facile synthetic strategy is applied to control the thickness of atomic-layer Pt clusters strongly anchored on N-doped Mo₂ C nanorods (Pt/N-Mo₂ C) and it is found that the Pt atomic layers modify Mo₂ C function as a high-performance and robust catalyst for hydrogen evolution. The optimized 1.08 wt% Pt/N-Mo₂ C exhibits 25-fold, 10-fold, and 15-fold better mass activity than the benchmark 20 wt% Pt/C in neutral, acidic, and alkaline media, respectively. This catalyst also represents an extremely low overpotential of -8.3 mV at current density of 10 mA cm^-2 , much better than the majority of reported electrocatalysts and even the commercial reference catalyst (20 wt%) Pt/C. Furthermore, it exhibits an outstanding long-term operational durability of 120 h. Theoretical calculation predicts that the ultrathin layer of Pt clusters on Mo-Mo₂ C yields the lowest absolute value of ΔG_H* . Experimental results demonstrate that the atomic layer of Pt clusters anchored on Mo₂ C substrate greatly enhances electron and mass transportation efficiency and structural stability. These findings could provide the foundation for developing highly effective and scalable hydrogen evolution catalysts.