Electrosynthesis-Induced Pt Skin Effect in Mesoporous Ni-Rich Ni-Pt Thin Films for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Eiler, Konrad (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Pané i Vidal, Salvador (ETH Zürich. Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems)
Döbeli, Max (ETH Zürich. Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics)
Müller, Arnold (ETH Zürich. Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics)
Vockenhuber, Christof (ETH Zürich. Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics)
Sort Viñas, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Pellicer Vilà, Eva Maria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)

Date:	2024
Description:	7 pàg.
Abstract:	A Pt skin effect, i. e. , an enrichment of Pt within the first 1-2 nm from the surface, is observed in as-prepared electrodeposited Ni-rich Ni-Pt thin films. This effect, revealed by Rutherford backscattering (RBS), is present for both dense thin films and mesoporous thin films synthesized by micelle-assisted electrodeposition from a chloride-based electrolyte. Due to the Pt skin effect, the Ni-rich thin films show excellent stability at the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media, during which a gradient in the Pt/Ni ratio is established along the thickness of the thin films, while the activity at the HER remains unaffected by this structural change. Further characterization by elastic recoil detection with He ions analysis shows that hydrogen profiles are similar to those of Pt: a surface hydrogen peak coincides with the Pt skin, and a gradient in hydrogen concentration is established during HER in acidic media, together with a considerable uptake in hydrogen. A comparative study shows that in alkaline media, hydrogen evolution has little to no effect on the structural properties of the thin films, even for much longer times of exposure. The mesoporous thin films, in addition to their higher efficiency at HER compared to dense thin films, also show lower internal stress, as determined by Rietveld refinement of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction patterns. The latter also reveal a fully single-phase and nanocrystalline structure for all thin films with varying Ni contents.
Grants:	Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00651 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-116844RB-C21
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Electrodeposition ; Hydrogen ; Ion beam analysis ; Mesoporous materials ; Pt skineffect ; Thin films ; Water splitting ; SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Published in:	ACS applied materials & interfaces, Vol. 16, Issue 32 (August 2024) , p. 42305-42311, ISSN 1944-8252

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c09288
PMID: 39092459

7 p, 8.2 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles