Heterometallic charge redistribution in PdIrPt medium-entropy nanoalloys for efficient and durable alkaline seawater hydrogen production

초록

Herein, we report a rapid CO2-laser thermal-shock strategy for synthesizing PdIrPt medium-entropy alloy (MEA) nanoparticles as durable electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline seawater electrolytes. The ultrafast laser-induced thermal conversion promotes a homogeneous ternary alloy structure with strong heterometallic coupling, tuned surface electronic states, and abundant accessible catalytic sites. The PdIrPt MEA catalyst delivers low overpotentials of 39, 37, and 39 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH, 1 M KOH/0.5 M NaCl, and 1 M KOH/seawater electrolytes, respectively, and keeps stable HER operation for 500 h. In situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the electronic coupling among Pd, Ir, and Pt regulates water activation and hydrogen adsorption/desorption energetics, thereby accelerating HER activity. An alkaline seawater electrolyzer assembled with PdIrPt MEA cathode reaches 10 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage of 1.609 V and operates stably for 250 h. In addition, a Zn–seawater battery employing the PdIrPt MEA cathode delivers a high open-circuit voltage of 1.51 V and powers LED lights and a digital clock while producing H2. Overall, this work provides a laser-assisted route to entropy-stabilized noble-metal nanoalloys for alkaline seawater hydrogen production and integrated hydrogen-electricity generation. © 2026

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