Anchored RuSe2 nanospheres on Co-N-C nanosheets boost electrocatalytic alkaline hydrogen evolution

Ru-based catalysts are potential substitutes for Pt in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It is worth noting that the Se ions in RuSe2 can modulate the electronic structure of the Ru metal, thus effectively improving the HER kinetics of RuSe2. However, single electronic structure modulation is hard to complete due to the electron deficiency of active Ru atoms. Herein, we prepare and design a novel RuSe2/Co-N-C (RuSe2 nanospheres supported on Co-N-C nanosheets) electrocatalyst with two-electron modulation by a hydrothermal and thermal annealing method. Benefiting from the uniform distribution of RuSe2 nanospheres on Co-N-C nanosheets and Co-N-C nanosheets acting as additional electron donors to make up for the electron deficiency of the Ru metal, RuSe2/Co-N-C exhibits excellent HER performance with a low overpotential of 26.4 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) and a low Tafel slope of 53.2 mV dec(-1). This work offers an effective method for the synthesis of high catalytic performance electrocatalysts by constructing an interaction between the carrier and the active metal.

Automated summary

Researchers prepared a novel RuSe2/Co-N-C electrocatalyst with uniform distribution of RuSe2 nanospheres on Co-N-C nanosheets and two-electron modulation, significantly improving the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction.