Three-dimensional hierarchical Co(OH)F nanosheet arrays decorated by single-atom Ru for boosting oxygen evolution reaction

Electronic coupling with the support plays a crucial role in boosting the intrinsic catalytic activity of a single-atom catalyst. Herein, the three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical Co(OH)F nanosheet arrays modified by singleatom Ru (SA-Ru/Co(OH)F) are prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal method under mild conditions, which exhibit excellent activity with an overpotential of 200 and 326 mV at 10 and 500 mA cm(-2), respectively, as well as robust stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1.0 mol L-1 KOH electrolyte. The study of electronic structures and surface chemical states before and after OER testing reveals that the strong electronic coupling between single-atom Ru and Co(OH)F induces the charge redistribution in SA-Ru/Co(OH)F and suppresses the excessive oxidation of Ru into higher valence state (more than +4) under high OER potential. This work provides a strategy to stabilize single-atom Ru by Co(OH)F that can enhance the activity and durability for OER under large current densities.

Automated summary

The study reveals that the strong electronic coupling between single-atom Ru and Co(OH)F can suppress the excessive oxidation of Ru into higher valence states under high OER potential, stabilizing single-atom Ru and enhancing the activity and durability for OER.