Development of a Novel Pt3V Alloy Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient and Durable Industrial Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acid Environment

Alloying platinum with early transition metals is a promising approach to optimize the adsorption behaviors of catalysts. Nevertheless, the large negative redox potential between early transition metals and Pt hinders the fabrication of such alloys. Herein, a strategy combining the thermal shock technique with electrochemical activation to prepare Pt3V alloy as a hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst is reported for the first time. Electrochemical tests show that the as-prepared catalyst exhibits exceptional catalytic activity and durability in 0.5 m H2SO4, surpassing the state-of-the-art 20 wt.% Pt/C. The catalyst can maintain its activity after 100 h tests without evident decay under the current density of 500 mA cm(-2). Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the optimized hydrogen absorption and high vacancy formation energy of Pt3V contributes to the enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability. This work may spur future research for other Pt-based early transition metal alloy catalysts for electrocatalysis.