Highly Active Si Sites Enabled by Negative Valent Ru for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution in LaRuSi

The discovery and identification of novel active sites are paramount for deepening the understanding of the catalytic mechanism and driving the development of remarkable electrocatalysts. Here, we reveal that the genuine active sites for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in LaRuSi are Si sites, not the usually assumed Ru sites. Ru in LaRuSi has a peculiar negative valence state, which leads to strong hydrogen binding to Ru sites. Surprisingly, the Si sites have a Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption that is near zero (0.063 eV). The moderate adsorption of hydrogen on Si sites during the HER process is also validated by in situ Raman analysis. Based on it, LaRuSi exhibits an overpotential of 72 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) in alkaline media, which is close to the benchmark of Pt/C. This work sheds light on the recognition of real active sites and the exploration of innovative silicide HER electrocatalysts.

Automated summary

This study reveals that the genuine active sites for the hydrogen evolution reaction in LaRuSi are Si sites, not the usually assumed Ru sites. Si sites have a moderate Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption, which is significant for the HER process. Based on this, LaRuSi exhibits an overpotential close to Pt/C.