Unlocking Interfacial Electron Transfer of Ruthenium Phosphides by Homologous Core–Shell Design toward Efficient Hydrogen Evolution and Oxidation

Abstract

Developing high‐efficiency electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions (HER/HOR) in alkaline electrolytes is of critical importance for realizing renewable hydrogen technologies. Ruthenium phosphides (RuPx) are promising candidates to substitute Pt‐based electrodes; however, great challenges still remain in their electronic structure regulation for optimizing intermediate adsorption. Herein, it is reported that a homologous RuP@RuP2 core–shell architecture constructed by a phosphatization‐controlled phase‐transformation strategy enables strong electron coupling for optimal intermediate adsorption by virtue of the emergent interfacial functionality. Density functional theory calculations show that the RuP core and RuP2 shell present efficient electron transfer, leading to a close to thermoneutral hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy of 0.04 eV. Impressively, the resulting material exhibits superior HER/HOR activities in alkaline media, which outperform the benchmark Pt/C and are among the best reported bifunctional hydrogen electrocatalysts. The present work not only provides an efficient and cost‐effective bifunctional hydrogen electrocatalyst, but also offers a new synthetic protocol to rationally synthesize homologous core–shell nanostructures for widespread applications.

Platinum-Anchored Iron Oxide Nanostructures for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

“…With the rapid depletion of conventional energy sources and the environmental impacts arising from the combustion of fossil fuels, the development of sustainable energy technologies has been attracting increasing attention. − Within this context, hydrogen (H 2 ) has been hailed as a unique alternative energy source thanks to its zero-carbon emission and high gravimetric energy density. − The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a crucial half-reaction of water splitting, serves as a key technology for hydrogen production, , and platinum-based nanomaterials have been used as state-of-the-art catalysts for HER . However, the high cost and scarcity of platinum greatly impede large-scale applications. , To mitigate these issues, one effective strategy is to develop high-performance HER catalysts with a minimal amount of platinum.…”

Facile and Scalable Synthesis of Self-Supported Zn-Doped CuO Nanosheet Arrays for Efficient Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium

“…20,31 Compared to CuO NAs, the Cu 2p 3/2 and Cu 2p 1/2 peaks of Zn−CuO NAs show a negative shift of about 0.6 eV, indicative of its increased electron density after Zn 2+ incorporation and hence is capable of offering more carriers to boost the electrode kinetics. 32 In the Zn 2p region (Figure 2d), the two weak peaks at 1021.7 and 1044.4 eV sequentially correspond to the Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 of Zn 2+ , 33 again verifying the successful fabrication of Zn−CuO NAs.…”

“…Accordingly, no signal of Zn is noted in the case of CuO NAs. The high-resolution Cu 2p XPS spectrum of Zn–CuO NAs can be deconvoluted into seven sub-peaks (Figure c), attributable to the characteristics of Cu 2+ . , Compared to CuO NAs, the Cu 2p 3/2 and Cu 2p 1/2 peaks of Zn–CuO NAs show a negative shift of about 0.6 eV, indicative of its increased electron density after Zn 2+ incorporation and hence is capable of offering more carriers to boost the electrode kinetics . In the Zn 2p region (Figure d), the two weak peaks at 1021.7 and 1044.4 eV sequentially correspond to the Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 of Zn 2+ , again verifying the successful fabrication of Zn–CuO NAs.…”

Construction of ternary RuP2/Ti4P6O23@TiO2 photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic biomass selective oxidation and water splitting

“…2C). 39,40 Due to the carbon contamination on the surface of RuP 2 /Ti 4 P 6 O 23 @TiO 2 -7, the C 1s spectrum located at 284.2 eV was observed. 41 Furthermore, the Ti 2p 3/2 (458.2 eV) and Ti 2p 1/2 (465.0 eV) were also divided in the Ti 2p spectra (Fig.…”