Superaerophobic Platinum Nanosheets Arrays on Conductive Microgrids: A Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic Electrode for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

The characteristics of electrolyte wetting and gas release are of vital importance for the electrocatalytic activity of a hydrogen evolution electrode (HEE). Herein, we reported a strategy to synergistically optimize the electrolyte wetting and gas release of a HEE to enhance its electrocatalytic activity. In our work, Pt nanosheets arrays were electrochemically deposited on a conductive substrate of Au microgrid to form a HEE. The micropores of Au grids induced discontinuous solid/liquid two-phase contact lines in microscale, which facilitated the wetting of proton-contained electrolyte. Simultaneously, the superaerophobicity of HEE promoted the release of hydrogen gas products. The joint improvement on electrolyte wetting and gas release enhanced the current density of hydrogen evolution reaction at a high overpotential by ∼300 % when compared with Pt nanosheets arrays on a flat Au substrate.