Pt nanoparticles-decorated molybdenum nitrides for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

Exploring low cost and high efficiency catalysts for hydrogen production from electrochemical water splitting is preferable and remains a significant challenge. As an alternative to Pt-based catalysts, molybdenum nitrides have attracted more attention for their hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, their performance is restricted due to the strong bonding of Mo-H. Herein, molybdenum nitrides with Pt-doping are fabricated to enhance the catalytic activity for HER in acidic solution. As expected, Pt (5 wt%)-MoN x delivers a low overpotential of 47 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm -2 with a high exchange current density ( j 0 = 0.98 mA cm -2 ). The superior performance is attributed to the modified electronic structure of Mo with Pt incorporation.