Activating Amorphous Ru Metallenes Through Co Integration for Enhanced Water Electrolysis

摘要

Designing efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts with excellent activity androbust stability presents a central challenge for the large-scalecommercialization of water electrolysis. Herein, a facile approach is reportedfor the construct of atomically thin amorphous RuM (M=Co, Fe, or Ni)bimetallenes as high-performance electrocatalysts toward bothelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolutionreaction (OER). The RuCo bimetallene manifests excellent bifunctional activitycharacterized by low required overpotentials, superior price activity, robustelectrochemical durability as well as a low cell potential water splittingperformance, outperforming Pt/C and RuO_2 benchmark catalysts. Combinedoperando X-ray absorption spectroscopy investigation and theoreticalsimulations reveal the synergism taking place between binary constituents, inwhich Co serves a promotive role along the HER/OER reaction pathway,contributing via optimal binding to *OH for facile water dissociation as wellas modulating the Ru electronic structure favorably, hence rendering highactivity catalytic centers for both the alkaline HER and OER.