Water electrolysis, a promising approach to green hydrogen production, is hindered by the high cost and low activity of traditional catalysts. Researchers from Xiamen University have developed an innovative electrocatalyst, WOX/RuPt/C, that overcomes these limitations.
The researchers synthesized WOX/RuPt/C, an inverse oxide/metal hybrid material, on a carbon surface. Structural analysis revealed a strong interaction between the metal oxide and the underlying material, allowing for efficient electron transfer.
In 1.0 M KOH solution, the WOX/RuPt/C catalyst exhibited exceptional performance in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), requiring only 19 mV overpotential to achieve a current density of −10 mA cm–2. The low Tafel slope of 33.9 mV dec–1 and high mass activity of 3.78 A mg–1 at −0.05 V demonstrate its superiority compared to commercial PtRu/C and Pt/C catalysts.
Further analysis using in situ infrared spectroscopy revealed that the interfacial water structure on WOX/RuPt/C is enriched with K+–H2O, facilitating water dissociation. This design provides a facile strategy for creating efficient inverse oxide/metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions.
The researchers’ innovative approach has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of green hydrogen production through water electrolysis.
Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c03709