Single-atomic platinum on fullerene C(60) surfaces for accelerated alkaline hydrogen evolution

The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the most studied and promising processes for hydrogen fuel generation. Single-atom catalysts have been shown to exhibit ultra-high HER catalytic activity, but the harsh preparation conditions and the low single-atom loading hinder their practical applications. Furthermore, promoting hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics, especially in alkaline electrolytes, remains as an important challenge. Herein, Pt/C(60) catalysts with high-loading, high-dispersion single-atomic platinum anchored on C(60) are achieved through a room-temperature synthetic strategy. Pt/C(60)-2 exhibits high HER catalytic performance with a low overpotential (η(10)) of 25 mV at 10 mA cm(−2). Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Pt-C(60) polymeric structures in Pt/C(60)-2 favors water adsorption, and the shell-like charge redistribution around the Pt-bonding region induced by the curved surfaces of two adjacent C(60) facilitates the desorption of hydrogen, thus favoring fast reaction kinetics for hydrogen evolution.