Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a crucial process in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. But what makes it tick? Researchers have been trying to improve the performance of Pt catalysts, and a recent study has shed light on the mystery. It turns out that mass transfer is the key to unlocking ultra-high HER performance. When the Pt/C loading is high, the HER performance doesn't improve with better intrinsic activity. Instead, mass transfer takes over, limiting the performance. But there's a way to overcome this limitation. By using a nanorod array substrate that's decoupled from the HER active sites, researchers have created a new catalyst that shows ultra-high HER performance. At an overpotential of 120 mV, the new catalyst shows a mass activity of 24.4 mA μgPt-1, which is 5.4 times higher than that of Pt/C. And the best part? It doesn't degrade even after 1000 hours of use at high current density.

Unlocking the Secret to Ultra-High Hydrogen Evolution

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