Flower-Like Amorphous MoO3-x Stabilized Ru Single Atoms for Efficient Overall Water/Seawater Splitting

Benefitting from the maximum atom utilization efficiency, special size quantum effects and tailored active sites, single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been promising candidates for bifunctional catalysts toward water splitting. Besides, due to the unique structure and properties, some amorphous materials have been found to possess better performance than their crystalline counterparts in electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, by combining the advantages of ruthenium (Ru) single atoms and amorphous substrates, amorphous molybdenum-based oxide stabilized single-atomic-site Ru (Ru SAs-MoO3-x/NF) catalysts are conceived as a self-supported electrode. By virtue of the large surface area, enhanced intrinsic activity and fast reaction kinetics, the as-prepared Ru SAs-MoO3-x/NF electrode effectively drives both oxygen evolution reaction (209 mV @ 10 mA cm(-2)) and hydrogen evolution reaction (36 mV @ 10 mA cm(-2)) in alkaline media. Impressively, the assembled electrolyzer merely requires an ultralow cell voltage of 1.487 V to deliver the current density of 10 mA cm(-2). Furthermore, such an electrode also exhibits a great application potential in alkaline seawater electrolysis, achieving a current density of 100 mA cm(-2) at a low cell voltage of 1.759 V. In addition, Ru SAs-MoO3-x/NF only has very small current density decay in the long-term constant current water splitting test.

Automated summary

Ru SAs-MoO3-x/NF catalysts, with the combination of single-atom ruthenium and amorphous substrates, effectively drive both oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions in alkaline media, as well as in alkaline seawater electrolysis.