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Ruthenium/nitrogen-doped carbon as an electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution in alkaline solution

Zhang J, Liu P, Wang G, Zhang PP, Zhuang XD, Chen MW, Weidinger IM, Feng XL (2017)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2017

Journal

Book Volume: 5

Pages Range: 25314-25318

Journal Issue: 48

DOI: 10.1039/c7ta08764k

Abstract

For all electrocatalysts (even Pt), the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline environments are more sluggish by a factor of two to three compared to those in acidic solutions. Here, we demonstrated the preparation of a novel ruthenium/nitrogen-doped carbon (Ru/NC) electrocatalyst supported by graphite foam, in which abundant, singly dispersed Ru atoms were chelated to a nitrogen-doped carbon matrix. In a 1 M KOH aqueous solution, the resultant Ru/NC electrocatalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic HER activity with an extremely low overpotential of only 21 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 and an excellent mass current density as high as 8 A mgRu^-1 at 100 mV, which is superior to the values for reported electrocatalysts (overpotentials of >50 mV at 10 mA cm^-2), even Pt catalysts (overpotential of ∼36 mV at 10 mA cm^-2). Importantly, the inherent turnover frequency (TOF) value (per Ru atom) of the Ru/NC electrocatalyst reaches 4.55 s^-1, which is 3.2 times higher than that of the Pt catalyst (1.41 s^-1). Electrochemical analyses and structural characterization revealed that atomically dispersed Ru is responsible for the outstanding HER activity of the Ru/NC electrocatalyst because of a substantially accelerated Volmer step. The outstanding HER performance gives the Ru/NC electrocatalyst promising potential for practical hydrogen production applications.

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How to cite

APA:

Zhang, J., Liu, P., Wang, G., Zhang, P.P., Zhuang, X.D., Chen, M.W.,... Feng, X.L. (2017). Ruthenium/nitrogen-doped carbon as an electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution in alkaline solution. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5(48), 25314-25318. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ta08764k

MLA:

Zhang, Jian, et al. "Ruthenium/nitrogen-doped carbon as an electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution in alkaline solution." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 5.48 (2017): 25314-25318.

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