journal article·2026-05Open access

A Highly Porous Nanofibrillar PEDOT:PSS Matrix for Beyond‐Surface Precious‐Metal Utilization and Volumetric Electrocatalysis

Da‐Young Lee, Hye‐Min Shin, Ji Hwan Kim, Myung‐Han Yoon

Small· Volume 22· Issue 27

Abstract

ABSTRACT Efficient precious‐metal utilization in electrocatalysis requires electrically conductive support architectures that enable electrocatalytic activity beyond conventional surface‐limited designs. Herein, we demonstrate that solvent‐assisted crystallization converts poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) into a water‐stable, highly conductive nanofibrillar matrix featuring nanoscale porosity and controlled swelling. During the subsequent electrodeposition of Pt nanoparticles (NPs), the highly porous nanofibrillar PEDOT:PSS moderately swells in aqueous media, allowing Pt ions to deeply infiltrate the polymer network and form uniformly dispersed Pt NPs throughout the entire film volume rather than on the surface alone. This volumetric nanoconfinement effect yields a markedly enlarged electrochemically active surface area (20 m 2 g Pt −1 ), rapid reactant permeability, and structural robustness under operating conditions. The resulting PEDOT:PSS–Pt nanocomposite exhibits greatly enhanced catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution and methanol oxidation reactions, outperforming conventional planar Pt architectures. This work establishes highly porous nanofibrillar PEDOT:PSS as a previously underutilized volumetric electrocatalyst scaffold and provides a general design strategy for maximizing precious‐metal efficiency in electrocatalysis and water‐splitting systems.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Conducting polymers and applications · Nanomaterials for catalytic reactions

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Gwangju Republic of Korea

GIST InnoCORE AI‐Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Gwangju Republic of Korea

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