Ultradense ZrC Nanoislands Decorated with Pt Single Atoms for Superior Activity and Durability in Water Electrolysis

Maoqiao Xiang

doi:10.1021/jacs.6c08947

Ultradense ZrC Nanoislands Decorated with Pt Single Atoms for Superior Activity and Durability in Water Electrolysis

2026-07-10

0

PRE

AI

M

Maoqiao Xiang

Z

Zhensui Lu

K

Kuo Liu

W

Wenjun Ding

Y

Yanyan Li

J

Jiuyi Zhu

P

Puheng Yang

P

Peng Peng

Y

Yafeng Yang

H

Huigang Zhang

Q

Qingshan Zhu *

DOI：10.1021/jacs.6c08947

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Abstract

En 中文

Enhancing the stability of Pt single atoms (SAs) remains a critical bottleneck for practical applications. Herein, we overcome this limitation by developing a ZrCl3–CH4 system that enables an explosive nucleation to directly construct defect-rich ZrC nanoislands (NIs) on carbon cloth as ultrastable anchoring platforms for Pt single atoms (Pt1@ZrC NIs). This strategy dramatically enhances the surface number density of ZrC particles by 2 orders of magnitude over conventional methods and eliminates the long-standing issue of free carbon contamination. The Pt1@ZrC NI electrode exhibits a strong synergy, where ZrC promotes water adsorption/dissociation and Pt facilitates hydrogen migration/desorption, yielding a mass activity 116- and 132-fold greater than that of the commercial Pt@C catalyst in alkaline and acidic media, respectively. Moreover, owing to the excellent acid- and base-resistance of ZrC and its strong binding to Pt SAs and the substrate, the Pt1@ZrC NIs catalyst maintains exceptional stability in both acidic and alkaline media.

Keywords:

Catalysts

Electrodes

Evolution reactions

Platinum

Stability

Ultradense ZrC Nanoislands Decorated with Pt Single Atoms for Superior Activity and Durability in Water Electrolysis

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