Atomically Dispersed Ruthenium on Nickel Hydroxide Ultrathin Nanoribbons for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

Abstract

Achieving highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media is a great challenge. Single‐atom catalysts with high‐loading amount have attracted great interest due to their remarkable catalytic properties. Herein, by using nickel foam as the substrate, the authors design and precisely synthesize atomic ruthenium (Ru)‐loaded nickel hydroxide ultrathin nanoribbons (R‐NiRu) with a high atomic Ru loading amount reaching ≈7.7 wt% via a one‐step hydrothermal method. The presence of concentrated Cl− in the synthetic system is beneficial for constructing ultrathin nanoribbons, which, with abundant edge OH groups, make it easy to trap atomic Ru. Taking advantage of the synergy between atomic Ru and the nanoribbon morphology of nickel hydroxide, R‐NiRu exhibit a low overpotential of 16 mV for HER at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 40 mV dec−1 in aqueous 1.0 m KOH solution, which are superior to those of commercial Pt/C (overpotential of 17 mV at 10 mA cm−2, Tafel slope of 43 mV dec−1). Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results demonstrate that atomically dispersed Ru can significantly reduce the HER energy barrier. Moreover, R‐NiRu maintains exceptional stability after 5000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. This efficient and facile synthetic strategy provides a new avenue for designing efficient catalysts.

Competitive Adsorption: Reducing the Poisoning Effect of Adsorbed Hydroxyl on Ru Single‐Atom Site with SnO2for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

“…The TOF value of Ru SAs-SnO 2 / C was 12.44 H 2 s À 1 at À 50 mV, which was 2.66 times higher than that of Pt/C (4.68 H 2 s À 1 ), and even far beyond most S4, Supporting Information), including Ru@multi-walled carbon nanotubes (0.40 H 2 s À 1 at À 25 mV), [5] Ru@C 2 N (0.76 H 2 s À 1 at À 25 mV), [4a] RuAu single-atom alloy (2.18 H 2 s À 1 at À 50 mV), [6] RuNi/CQDs (5.03 H 2 s À 1 at À 100 mV), [1a] Ru/ C 3 N 4 /C (4.2 H 2 s À 1 at À 100 mV), [9c] Ru/Co@ carbon quantum dot hybrid (6.2 H 2 s À 1 at À 100 mV), [18] and R-NiRu (0.78 H 2 s À 1 at À 100 mV). [13] The above results indicated the Ru SAs-SnO 2 /C exhibited higher intrinsic HER activity. Considering the cost of catalysts for practical application, the mass activity of Ru SAs-SnO 2 /C and commercial Pt/C were evaluated by normalizing the LSV curves based on the masses of Pt and Ru, respectively.…”

An electrochemical modification strategy to fabricate NiFeCuPt polymetallic carbon matrices on nickel foam as stable electrocatalysts for water splitting

“…It can be seen clearly in Fig. 3g that the current Please do not adjust margins Please do not adjust margins density loss is inconspicuous even after working for 750h, which is a breakthrough for the stability of NF under acidic condition 46,47 . In addition, with the increase of current density, the Cu film may become denser (Fig.…”

Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis for sustainable large‐scale hydrogen production

“…For example, Chen et al synthesized atomic Ru loaded on nickel hydroxide as layered sheets on nickel nanofoams. [ 77 ] Abundant edge hydroxide groups on an ultrathin nanoribbons structure promoted a facile trap of atomic Ru, which hindered Ru atoms from agglomerating into Ru nanoparticles. A synergistic combination of nanoribbon morphology of nickel hydroxide and atomically dispersed Ru active sites resulted in an ultralow overpotential of 16 mV for HER to achieve the current density of −10 mA cm −2 and a Tafel slope of 40 mV dec −1 in 1 M KOH.…”