Galvanic catalyst boosts efficient electrolytic hydrogen production from liquid organic hydrogen carriers

Hydrogen is considered an important future energy but still faces storage and transportation bottlenecks. Formic acid (FA) acts as a potential organic hydrogen storage material, requiring a fast and effective method for hydrogen evolution. Herein, we propose a galvanic catalysis strategy, which fabricates the Pt||C galvanic cell structured catalyst in the phosphomolybdic acid solution (PMo 12 ) to enhance electron transfer and accelerate FA oxidation under mild conditions. PMo 12 serves as an electron carrier for electrocatalytic hydrogen production. Pt provides active sites for FA adsorption and the carbon support with a high specific surface area absorbs PMo 12 , forming an internal electric field between carbon and Pt, and resulting in the galvanic effect that drives the directional electrons transfer along the Pt → C pathway. The mass activity of Pt for FA decomposition reaches 32.82 A mg −1 Pt and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 540,768 h −1 , which is 298 times higher than the mass activity of commercial Pt/C. Subsequently, coupled with anodic regeneration of reduced PMo 12 , the hydrogen production in a flow electrolytic cell achieves a remarkably low electricity consumption (1.39–2.30 kW∙h Nm −3 H 2 ) and Faraday efficiency over 97 %. This study offers valuable insights into the design of advanced catalytic systems for hydrogen production from organic molecules. A novel strategy of galvanic catalysis to boost efficient electrolytic hydrogen production from FA was proposed. The Pt||C galvanic cell structured catalyst reached a high mass activity of 32.82 A mg −1 Pt and a TOF of 540,768 h −1 , and the electricity consumption for hydrogen evolution was significantly reduced to 15.57–25.76 kW∙h kg −1 H 2 with a high Faraday efficiency over 97 %. • A novel strategy of galvanic catalysis boosts efficient hydrogen production from FA. • An ultrahigh mass activity of FA oxidation of 32.82 A mg −1 Pt was achieved. • Low electricity consumption of 15.57–25.76 kW∙h kg −1 H 2 for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.