Synthesis of Sulfur-Doped PtRuNi Alloy Catalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Green hydrogen production via electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising strategy for enabling renewable energy technologies. To improve hydrogen generation efficiency, extensive efforts have been devoted to developing electrocatalysts with lower energy requirements and higher stability. Among these, randomly mixed alloy catalysts have attracted significant attention due to their ability to exhibit synergistic effects surpassing those of single-component materials. Here, the synthesis of a sulfur-doped PtRuNi alloy catalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using carbothermal shock (CTS) method is reported. This rapid, high temperature synthesis technique enabled the formation of PtRuNi/S alloy nanoparticles with a finely tuned local electronic structure, driven by sulfur incorporation. The resulting catalyst exhibited outstanding HER activity in both acidic and alkaline solution, with overpotentials of 23.3 and 23.9 mV, respectively. Compared to Pt catalyst synthesized on the same substrate, the sulfur-doped alloy demonstrated positive overpotential shifts of approximate to 50 mV in acidic and 90 mV in alkaline environment, as well as significantly enhanced kinetics and electrochemical stability. This work not only presents an efficient and scalable synthesis strategy for heteroatom-doped alloy catalysts but also provides a promising platform for broader applications in other fields requiring tunable electronic structures and long-term durability.