Sucrose leavening-induced hierarchically porous carbon enhanced the hydrogen evolution reaction performance of Pt nanoparticles

Abstract Electrochemical catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction is one of the most promising ways to produce hydrogen. Structural optimizing of carbon supports has been proven an effective way to improve the electrocatalytic performance of Pt catalysts. In this work, hierarchically porous carbon prepared by the “bread leavening method” is proved as an excellent substitution for commercial carbon black to support Pt nanoparticles due to its large specific surface area, abundant oxygen-containing functional groups and defect sites. Notably, the Pt catalyst supported on hierarchically porous carbon exhibits an outstanding catalytic performance towards hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H2SO4 aqueous solution. The overpotential is 24 mV at the current density of −10 mA cm−2. The composite displays an onset potential of −10 mV, which is much more positive than that of the commercial Pt/C (−18 mV). Furthermore, the composite shows an excellent long-term stability after 2000 cycles and chronoamperometric response for 10 h. This work provides an ideal alternative to the commercial Pt/C to catalyze the electrochemical water splitting.