Exploring efficient and economical electrocatalysts and understanding the mechanism for alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) are crucial to facilitate the development of alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs). Herein, Ru 2 P was synthesized and used as an anodic HOR electrocatalyst for APEFC, achieving a peak power density of 1.3 W cm −2 , the highest value among Pt-free anode electrocatalysts reported under the same conditions. From the density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental results, it was found that besides the optimized hydrogen binding energy, the enhanced adsorption strength of oxygenated species (OH*) and the reduced work function of Ru 2 P contributed to the enhanced HOR performance. The normalized exchange current densities of Ru 2 P/C were 0.37 mA cm ECSA −2 and 0.27 mA μg Ru −1, respectively, both approximately three times higher than those of Ru when conducted in the rotating disk electrode (RDE) system. Our work provides a new pathway for exploring highly active Pt-free HOR electrocatalysts and expanding the family of anodic electrocatalysts for APEFCs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.