Amorphous Ruthenium ‐Sulfide with Isolated Catalytic Sites for Pt‐Like Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production Over Whole pH Range

A pH ‐universal amorphous ruthenium‐sulfide/sulfide‐doped graphene oxide (GO) catalyst with isolated active sites is fabricated by a hydrothermal reaction for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with Pt‐like activity. This is the first‐time abundant single atom catalytic sites are demonstrated in an amorphous catalyst. Theoretical calculations suggest that the isolated Ru sites exhibit Pt‐like bonding strength towards hydrogen, which contributes to the high intrinsic HER activity. AbstractElectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an efficient way to generate hydrogen fuel for the storage of renewable energy. Currently, the widely used Pt ‐based catalysts suffer from high costs and limited electrochemical stability; therefore, developing an efficient alternative catalyst is very urgent. Herein, one pot hydrothermal synthesis is reported of amorphous ruthenium‐sulfide (RuSx) nanoparticles (NPs) supported on sulfur ‐doped graphene oxide (GO). The as‐obtained composite serves as a Pt‐like HER electrocatalyst. Achieving a current density of −10 mA cm−2 only requires a small overpotential ( −31, −46, and −58 mV in acidic, neutral, and alkaline electrolyte, respectively) with high durability. The isolated Ru active site inducing Volmer–Heyrovsky mechanism in the RuSx NPs is demonstrated by the Tafel analysis and X ‐ray absorption spectroscopy characterization. Theoretical simulation indicates the isolated Ru site exhibits Pt‐like Gibbs...

Source: Small - September 16, 2019 Category: Nanotechnology Authors: Pengsong Li, Xinxuan Duan, Shiyuan Wang, Lirong Zheng, Yaping Li, Haohong Duan, Yun Kuang, Xiaoming Sun Tags: Communication Source Type: research