Yuan-Chao Hu,1,2,* Yong Yang,1 and Wei-Hua Wang2

A Highly Efficient and Self-Stabilizing Metallic Glass Catalyst for Electrochemical Hydrogen Generation

Yuan-Chao Hu ,1,2,* Yong Yang,1 and Wei-Hua Wang2

1Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China 2Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 China

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Designing a highly efficient catalyst for electrochemical water splitting is of vital importance for producing clean and sustainable hydrogen energy. However, challenges still remain for optimizing the electrocatalytic activity and durability of the catalysts. Here, a multicomponent metallic glass with high activity and anomalous durability for catalyzing water splitting is reported. Through experimental material characterizations and theoretical calculations, the outstanding performance of the amorphous catalyst contributed by self-optimized active sites is attributed to the intrinsic chemical heterogeneity and selective dealloying on the disordered surface; thus, a new mechanism for improving the durability of catalysts is uncovered. Hence, besides the superior performance of the metallic glass for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction, this work also has an important indication in uncovering and understanding the atomic-scale catalysis mechanism of amorphous materials [1].

1. Yuan-Chao Hu, P. F. Guan, Y. Yang, W. H. Wang et al. A Highly Efficient and Self- stabilizing Metallic Glass Catalyst for Electrochemical Hydrogen Generation. Advanced Materials (2016), DOI: 10.1002/adma.201603880