Research Summary of Dr. YANG Tao's Group

Development of the high-performance noble-metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution based on the novel multinary intermetallic

Electrochemical water splitting offers an attractive approach for hydrogen production. However, the lack of high-performance costeffective electrocatalyst severely hinders its applications. In our work, a multinary high-entropy intermetallic (HEI) that possesses an unusual periodically ordered structure containing multiple nonnoble elements is developed, which can serve as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. This HEI exhibits excellent activities in alkalinity with an overpotential of 88.2 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 40.1 mV dec−1, which are comparable to those of noble catalysts. Theoretical calculations reveal that the chemical complexity and surprising atomic configurations provide a strong synergistic function to alter the electronic structure. Furthermore, the unique L12-type ordered structure enables a specific site-isolation effect to further stabilize the H2O/H* adsorption/desorption, which dramatically optimizes the energy barrier of hydrogen evolution. Such an HEI strategy uncovers a new paradigm to develop novel electrocatalyst with superior reaction activities.

Reference

1. Jia, Z, Yang, T, Sun, L, Zhao, Y, Li, W, Luan, J, Lyu, F, Zhang, L-C, Kruzic, JJ, Kai, J-J, Huang, JC, Lu, J & Liu, CT 2020, 'A Novel Multinary Intermetallic as an Active Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution', Advanced Materials, vol. 32, no. 21, 2000385.

2. Yang, T, Zhao, YL, Li, WP, Yu, CY, Luan, JH, Lin, DY, Fan, L, Jiao, ZB, Liu, WH, Liu, XJ, Kai, JJ, Huang, JC & Liu, CT 2020, 'Ultrahigh-strength and ductile superlattice alloys with nanoscale disordered interfaces', Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 369, no. 6502, pp. 427-432.

3. Yang, T, Cao, BX, Zhang, TL, Zhao, YL, Liu, WH, Kong, HJ, Luan, JH, Kai, JJ, Kuo, W & Liu, CT 2022, 'Chemically complex intermetallic alloys: A new frontier for innovative structural materials', Materials Today, vol. 52, pp. 161-174.