Unlocking Neutral Hydrogen Evolution via a Lattice‐Proton‐Mediated Pathway on a Pt/h‐WO 3 Single‐Atom Catalyst

Sustainable hydrogen production from abundant natural water is severely hampered by the sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in neutral media, a fundamental bottleneck for large‐scale water electrolysis. Herein, we report a novel synergistic strategy to circumvent this limitation by designing a platinum single‐atom catalyst supported on hexagonal tungsten oxide (Pt/ h ‐WO 3 ). Our theoretical and experimental results show that the H x WO 3 support acts as a lattice‐proton reservoir that captures and stores protons (H + ) from water within its lattice. The stored H + ions are subsequently utilized by the atomic Pt sites, which serve as catalytic sites that open a low‐energy pathway and bypass the high activation barrier of conventional water dissociation. This unique mechanism, directly verified by in situ Raman spectroscopy, endows the catalyst with strong acid‐like HER activity in neutral media, achieving an overpotential of only 22 mV at 10 mA cm −2 . This work establishes a powerful design principle that synergizes lattice‐level reactant storage with atomic‐level catalytic sites and offers a new paradigm for overcoming kinetic barriers in challenging electrochemical reactions.