Constructing regulable supports via non-stoichiometric engineering to stabilize ruthenium nanoparticles for enhanced pH-universal water splitting.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38553434.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46750-6 and PMC identifier 10980754.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Establishing appropriate metal-support interactions is imperative for acquiring efficient and corrosion-resistant catalysts for water splitting. Herein, the interaction mechanism between Ru nanoparticles and a series of titanium oxides, including TiO, Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>7</sub> and TiO<sub>2,</sub> designed via facile non-stoichiometric engineering is systematically studied. Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>7,</sub> with the unique band structure, high conductivity and chemical stability, endows with ingenious metal-support interaction through interfacial Ti-O-Ru units, which stabilizes Ru species during OER and triggers hydrogen spillover to accelerate HER kinetics. As expected, Ru/Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>7</sub> displays ultralow overpotentials of 8 mV and 150 mV for HER and OER with a long operation of 500 h at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> in acidic media, which is expanded in pH-universal environments. Benefitting from the excellent bifunctional performance, the proton exchange membrane and anion exchange membrane electrolyzer assembled with Ru/Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>7</sub> achieves superior performance and robust operation. The work paves the way for efficient energy conversion devices.