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 Ti 3 C 2 T x MXenes derived from two MAX phases (Ti 3 AlC 2 and Ti 3 SiC 2 ) 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 Ti 3 AlC 2 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.