Confinement and synergy effects of supported-confined bimetal catalysts with superior stability and catalytic activity

Bimetallic nanocrystals have attracted considerable attention because of their complicated systems, which are far superior to those of their individual constituents. A TiO₂-confined PtMnP bimetallic catalyst (PtMnP@TiO₂) was prepared using an ultrasonic-assisted coincident strategy, which demonstrated exceptional catalytic activity in the universal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Owing to the bimetallic synergistic effect and TiO₂ confinement, PtMnP@TiO_x showed ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (NPs), a higher active Pt⁰ content, adequate activation at the porous surface, and abundant acid sites. Simulations were performed to visualize the strain properties of Mn and Pt during the bending process and demonstrate the high activity of Pt. The Pt-Mn bimetallic catalysts were enriched with Pt NPs, convoyed by electron transfer from Mn to Pt. Briefly, PtMnP@TiO₂ showed robust evolution reaction activities (an overpotential of 220 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 186 mV dec⁻¹) and the ability to contrast stated catalysts without ultrasonication-plasma. This protocol revealed that the geometrical and electronic effects of Pt and P surrounding the Mn species in PtMnP@TiO₂ were crucial for increasing the catalytic activity (99%) and durability (over 20 cycles), which were far superior to those of other reported catalysts. © 2024 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.