Plasma-synthesized platinum single atom and nanoparticle catalysts for high-current–density hydrogen evolution

[Display omitted] •PtM/p-GO requires an overpotential of only 130 mV to reach 1000 mA cm−2.•PtM/p-GO can stably work at 1400 mA cm−2 for 24 h without performance degradation.•PtM/p-GO with a Pt loading of 1.89 wt% outperforms commercial 20 wt% Pt/C.•Nonthermal plasma provides a fast and environmental-friendly means for synthesis.•DFT reveals the working mechanism of PtM/p-GO at low and high currents. “Green hydrogen” is the production of hydrogen through the electrolysis of water with renewable energy, which is an ideal form of hydrogen energy generation with zero carbon emissions. Platinum (Pt)-based catalysts have the highest catalytic efficiencies, but their application is limited by the high price and low reserves of Pt. Therefore, developing high-performance catalysts with low platinum loadings is a desirable way to reduce the cost of hydrogen production. Single atom platinum can achieve 100 % atomic utilization, but does not perform well at high current density. Here, we synthesized a catalyst composed of platinum single atoms and nanoparticles by nonthermal plasma technique. The catalyst exhibits an overpotential of 18, 89 and 130 mV at a current density of 10, 300 and 1000 mA cm−2, respectively. This performance far exceeds that of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C and the loading is only one tenth (1.89 wt%). Nonthermal plasma technique offers an effective means to promote the synthesis of high-current hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts with low costs and the development of their industrialization.