Opening the Co/Pt Hollow Nanospheres by Photoelectrocatalysis to Efficiently Utilizing the Inside and Outside for HER

Hollowed nanostructures have shown great promise for catalysis, energy conversion and environment protection owing to their re-duced need of catalytic atoms per active surface area. Herein, using one-pot method without template, a series of Co/Pt hollowed nano-spheres are successfully synthesized for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nanoscale pinholes across the HNSs nanoshells are initiated by photoelectrocatalysis, enabling a full diffusional access to all electrocatalytic sites located on both faces, which ultimately results in a doubling of their photocatalytic activity toward HER. This work provides insights for strategies aiming to form nanopores across the shells of hollowed nanostructures with-out collapse.