Palladium-MXenes aerogel decorated by alkyne functionalized polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a highly efficient catalyst for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

[Display omitted] • Palladium-MXenes Aerogel Decorated by Alkyne Functionalized Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) was firstly prepared for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER). • The presence of alkyne-PVA can effectively reinforce the MXenes framework and prevent Pd migrating during the pyrolysis process, leading to the universal distribution of Pd NPs. • Pd NPs/Ti 3 C 2 T x @C exhibits excellent HER performance in acidic condition with a low overpotential of 44 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. A novel alkyne functionalized polyvinyl alcohol (alkyne-PVA) encapsulated palladium-MXenes aerogel was fabricated in two steps, and the structure was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transition electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as-prepared aerogel is regarded as an efficient electrocatalyst toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) after pyrolysis. Indeed, it shows a very efficient catalytic activity with a low overpotential of 44 mV (at 10 mA cm−2) for HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]