Modulating electronic structure of metal-organic frameworks by introducing atomically dispersed Ru for efficient hydrogen evolution

Developing high-performance electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction is important for clean and sustainable hydrogen energy, yet still challenging. Herein, we report a single-atom strategy to construct excellent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalyst (NiRu0.13-BDC) by introducing atomically dispersed Ru. Significantly, the obtained NiRu0.13-BDC exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution activity in all pH, especially with a low overpotential of 36mV at a current density of 10mAcm(-2) in 1M phosphate buffered saline solution, which is comparable to commercial Pt/C. X-ray absorption fine structures and the density functional theory calculations reveal that introducing Ru single-atom can modulate electronic structure of metal center in the MOF, leading to the optimization of binding strength for H2O and H*, and the enhancement of HER performance. This work establishes single-atom strategy as an efficient approach to modulate electronic structure of MOFs for catalyst design. Developing high-performance, neutral-media H-2-evolution electrocatalysts is important for clean and sustainable hydrogen energy, yet rare, expensive elements are most active. Here, authors show that metal-organic frameworks modified with single ruthenium atoms as high-performances catalysts.

Automated summary

The research demonstrates the use of a single-atom strategy to construct high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction, showing excellent activity at all pH values and comparable performance to commercial Pt/C. Introducing single ruthenium atoms into metal-organic frameworks leads to improved binding strength for H2O and H*, enhancing HER performance.