Enhanced single-nanoparticle collisions for the hydrogen evolution reaction in a confined microchannel

Single nanoparticle (NP) collisions technique has been widely employed in electrocatalysis. However, the short collision duration of single NPs hinders further improvement their electrocatalytic performance. Here, to increase dynamic electron tunneling region, enhanced near-wall hindered diffusion is introduced stochastic process by coupling a Au ultramicroelectrode (UME) with confined microchannel. In case palladium (Pd NP) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), hydrodynamic trapping microchannel effectively permits activation HER on Pd NPs. The microchannel-based UME promising application single-NP energy conversion.