Ce Clusters Enhance Ultrafine Pt Nanoparticles for Efficient Acidic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Pt-based catalysts have great potential for application in the hydrogen evolution reaction. However, developing cost-effective, highly active, and durable Pt-based electrocatalysts remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a facile strategy to synthesize ultrafine Pt nanoparticles (Pt-CeCN) by the Ce clusters pre-anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon (CN). The electronic structure of Pt species is modulated by doped Ce, which reinforces the metal-support interaction and significantly enhances the activity and stability of the catalyst in acidic electrolyte. The resultant Pt-CeCN catalyst exhibits the overpotentials of 16.3 and 35.6 mV at current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm⁻², respectively. It is worth noting that the stability of Pt-CeCN at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² reaches 100 h under acidic conditions. XPS analysis reveals that Pt on Pt-CeCN shows a lower valence state than that of Pt on Pt-CN, indicating a strong interaction between Ce and Pt atoms resulting in electron-rich Pt nanoparticles.