Mesoporous amorphous non-noble metals as versatile substrates for high loading and uniform dispersion of Pt-group single atoms

Authors: Yunqing Kang, Shuangjun Li, Ovidiu Cretu, Koji Kimoto, Yingji Zhao, Liyang Zhu, Xiaoqian Wei, Lei Fu, Dong Jiang, Chao Wan, Bo Jiang, Toru Asahi, Dieqing Zhang, Hexing Li, Yusuke Yamauchi

Published: 2024-06-21

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado2442

Source: Full article


Abstract

Atomically dispersed Pt-group metals are promising as nanocatalysts because of their unique geometric structures and ultrahigh atomic utilization. However, loading isolated Pt-group metals in single-atom alloys (SAAs) with distinctive bimetallic sites is challenging. In this study, we present amorphous mesoporous Ni boride (Ni-B) as an ideal substrate to uniformly disperse Pt atoms with tunable loadings (1.7 to 12.2 wt %). The effect of the morphology, composition, and crystal phase of the Ni-B host on the growth and dispersion of Pt atoms is discussed. The resulting amorphous Pt-Ni-B mesoporous nanospheres exhibit superior electrocatalytic H