Laser-Engineered Catalysts for Efficient Hydrogen Production with Ultra-Low Platinum Loading
Green hydrogen production through water electrolysis requires efficient and durable electrocatalysts with minimal use of scarce and expensive platinum group metals. This study presents a rapid and innovative approach to developing highly active hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts by combining ultrafast laser processing with ultra-low Pt loading. Within seconds, laser treatment transforms metallic titanium into a nanostructured black TiO2/TiO2-x support, combining a high-surface-area TiO₂ surface with a conductive, partially reduced TiO2-x subsurface that promotes strong metal–support interactions. Highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles, clusters, and individual atoms are subsequently anchored onto the laser-engineered support, enabling exceptional Pt utilization. Remarkably, the optimized Ti/TiO2-x-Pt catalyst, containing only 3.6 μg Pt cm-2, achieves Pt/C-like HER performance despite using more than five times less Pt.
Advanced experimental characterization combined with density functional theory calculations reveals that the laser-engineered TiO2-x support effectively anchors and stabilizes highly dispersed Pt single atoms and nanoclusters, which exhibit promising intrinsic HER activity, enabling efficient platinum utilization and enhanced electrocatalytic performance.
This work introduces a fast, additive-free strategy for developing high-performance electrocatalysts with substantially reduced precious metal content, offering a promising pathway toward more resource-efficient hydrogen production technologies.
Publication: Smiljanić et al., Ultrafast laser-engineered black TiO2-x coatings for highly dispersed Pt catalysts with exceptional HER efficiency. Chemical Engineering Journal 549 (2026), 183188.
Link to the article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.183188
Contact: milutin.smiljanic(at)ki.si