Atomically Thin Holey Two-Dimensional Ru<sub>2</sub>P Nanosheets for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis.

Jin, Xiaoyan; Jang, Haeseong; Jarulertwathana, Nutpaphat; Kim, Min Gyu; Hwang, Seong-Ju · ACS Nano · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The defect engineering of low-dimensional nanostructured materials has led to increased scientific efforts owing to their high efficiency concerning high-performance electrocatalysts that play a crucial role in renewable energy technologies. Herein, we report an efficient methodology for fabricating atomically thin, holey metal-phosphide nanosheets with excellent electrocatalyst functionality. Two-dimensional, subnanometer-thick, holey Ru<sub>2</sub>P nanosheets containing crystal defects were synthesized via the phosphidation of monolayer RuO<sub>2</sub> nanosheets. Holey Ru<sub>2</sub>P nanosheets exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) compared to that exhibited by nonholey Ru<sub>2</sub>P nanoparticles. Further, holey Ru<sub>2</sub>P nanosheets exhibited overpotentials of 17 and 26 mV in acidic and alkaline electrolytes, respectively. Thus, they are among the best-performing Ru-P-based HER catalysts reported to date. In situ spectroscopic investigations indicated that the holey nanosheet morphology enhanced the accumulation of surface hydrogen through the adsorption of protons and/or water, resulting in an increased contribution of the Volmer-Tafel mechanism toward the exceptional HER activity of these ultrathin electrocatalysts.