Delamination-Driven Strong Metal Support Interaction in Pt Nanoparticle–MXene Catalysts for Improved Trifunctional Electrocatalysis

Understanding how precursor chemistry and delamination strategy influence metal–MXene interfaces remains a key challenge in designing efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, Pt nanoparticles were incorporated onto Ti3C2Tx MXenes derived from two MAX phases (Ti3AlC2 and Ti3SiC2) using two distinct delamination chemistries (TMAOH and DMSO), enabling systematic tuning of the structure and strong metal–support interactions (SMSI). Structural analysis reveals that TMAOH-delaminated Ti3AlC2 MXene forms defect-rich, edge-exposed nanosheets that promote preferential Pt anchoring and uniform dispersion. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) demonstrates pronounced interfacial charge redistribution, characterized by reduced unfilled Pt 5d states and increased Ti oxidation state, confirming strong electronic coupling at the Pt–MXene interface. As a result, the optimized catalyst (PAT) exhibits superior catalytic performance and durability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) compared with Pt/C and other MXene-supported systems. This work establishes precursor–delamination synergy as an effective strategy for engineering metal–MXene interfaces and designing multifunctional electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications.