Manipulating the Spatial Position of Ru Confined in the Co Crystal Lattice Encapsulated in the Metal–Organic Framework Matrix To Boost Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The design and construction of an efficient, stable, and low-cost electrocatalyst are the main challenge for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via water splitting. Herein, a dual-active-site Co−Ru-based HER electrocatalyst (ZIF-67@ZIF-8@Ru-900) was derived from the core−shell zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) structure of ZIF-67 and ZIF-8 with a controlled spatial metal loading position. Benefiting from the effective synergistic electronic interaction between Co and Ru sites, the 3D porous architecture, and the pyridinic N species, the as-prepared ZIF-67@ZIF-8@Ru-900 exhibited an outstanding HER performance, showing an overpotential of only 13 and 29 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , respectively, along with reliable catalytic stabilities.