Separating nanobubble nucleation for transfer-resistance-free electrocatalysis

Shasha Guo, Maolin Yu, Jinn-Kye Lee, Mengyi Qiu, Dundong Yuan, Zhili Hu, Chao Zhu, Yao Wu, Zude Shi, Wei Ma, Shuangyin Wang, Yongmin He (), Zhengyang Zhang (), Zhuhua Zhang () and Zheng Liu ()
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Shasha Guo: Cornell University
Maolin Yu: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Jinn-Kye Lee: Nanyang Technological University
Mengyi Qiu: Hunan University
Dundong Yuan: Southeast University
Zhili Hu: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Chao Zhu: Southeast University
Yao Wu: Nanyang Technological University
Zude Shi: Hunan University
Wei Ma: Nanyang Technological University
Shuangyin Wang: Hunan University
Yongmin He: Hunan University
Zhengyang Zhang: Nanyang Technological University
Zhuhua Zhang: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Zheng Liu: Nanyang Technological University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Electrocatalytic gas-evolving reactions often result in bubble-covered surfaces, impeding the mass transfer to active sites. Such an issue will be worsened in practical high-current-density conditions and can cause sudden cell failure. Herein, we develop an on-chip microcell-based total-internal-reflection-fluorescence-microscopy to enable operando imaging of bubbles at sub-50 nm and dynamic probing of their nucleation during hydrogen evolution reaction. Using platinum-interfacial metal layer-graphene as model systems, we demonstrate that the strong binding energy between interfacial metal layer and graphene—evidenced by a reduced metal-support distance and enhanced charge transfer—facilitates hydrogen spillover from platinum to the graphene support due to lower energy barriers compared to the platinum-graphene system. This results in the spatial separation of bubble nucleation from the platinum surface, notably enhancing catalytic activity, as demonstrated in both microcell and polymer electrolyte membrane cell experiments. Our findings offer insights into bubble nucleation control and the design of electrocatalytic interfaces with minimized transfer resistance.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55750-5

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