Titanium Dioxide Supported Low-Loading Platinum As Efficient and Durable Electrocatalyst for Acidic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Low-cost and high -performance catalysts towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are essential in proton exchange membrane water electrolysers (PEMWE). Herein, an efficient and durable titanium dioxide supported low platinum-loading (TiO2-Pt) catalyst was fabricated. The prepared TiO2-Pt catalyst achieve an HER overpotential of 22 mV at 10 mA cm -2 and excellent durability performance in 0.5 M H2SO4. Electron transfer from TiO2 to Pt species and the presence of large amounts of proton on TiO2-Pt surface are verified, which facilitates the Heyrovsky step and promotes the HER activity of TiO2-Pt. The PEMWE with TiO2-Pt membrane electrode assemblies requires 1.65 V cell voltage to reach 1 A cm -2 and kept stable in 300 h continuous test. The electricity cost for hydrogen production by TiO2-Pt catalyst is below the US DOE requirements by 2026. This work provides a promising strategy for the synthesis of high -performance low Pt-loading HER catalysts for low-cost hydrogen production.