Nontrivial Topological Surface States in Ru3Sn7 toward Wide pH-Range Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Nontrivial topological surface states (TSSs), which possess extraordinary carrier mobility and are protected by the bulk symmetry, have emerged as an innovative platform to search for efficient electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, a Sn-based nontrivial metal Ru3Sn7 is prepared using electrical arc melting method. The results indicate that the (001) crystal family of Ru3Sn7 possesses nontrivial TSSs with linear dispersion relation and large nontrivial energy window. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that nontrivial TSSs of Ru3Sn7 can significantly boost charge transfer kinetics and optimize adsorption of hydrogen intermediates due to bulk symmetry-protected band structures. As expected, nontrivial Ru3Sn7 exhibits superior HER activity to Ru, Pt/C, and trivial counterparts (e.g., Ru2Sn3, IrSn2, and Rh3Sn2) with higher ratios of noble metals. Furthermore, the wide pH-range activity of topologically nontrivial Ru3Sn7 implies the robustness of its TSSs against pH variation during the HER. These findings provide a promising approach to the rational design of topologically nontrivial metals as highly efficient electrocatalysts.

Automated summary

Nontrivial Ru3Sn7 with nontrivial topological surface states (TSSs) and excellent carrier mobility was found to exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to optimized adsorption properties and charge transfer kinetics.