Atom-Cluster Synergy in Scalable Fe-Ru Dual-Site Architectures Accelerates Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42722976.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/adma.74980.
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Abstract
Sluggish initial water dissociation (the Volmer step) severely limits alkaline water electrolysis. We report a highly scalable mechanochemical strategy to construct a dual-site electrocatalyst, Ru<sub>NC</sub>@Fe<sub>1</sub>NC, that spatially decouples water activation and hydrogen recombination. Harnessing the high-energy impact of iron media and graphite, a solvent-free mechanochemical process generates a defective carbon matrix anchoring isolated, oxophilic Fe single atoms (Fe<sub>1</sub>), followed by the targeted deposition of ruthenium nanoclusters (Ru<sub>NC</sub>). This atomic-level division of catalytic labor fundamentally accelerates the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. Ru<sub>NC</sub>@Fe<sub>1</sub>NC requires an overpotential of only 13.8 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> with an ultralow Ru loading (∼2 wt%). In a practical anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE), this catalyst drives a current density of 1.0 A cm<sup>-2</sup> at merely 1.66 V and sustains over 1100 h of continuous operation with negligible decay. Mechanistic studies-combining isotopic substitution, in situ Raman spectroscopy, time-resolved hydrogen accumulation-stripping analysis, and density functional theory-reveal that the Fe<sub>1</sub> sites readily adsorb water and selectively lower the O-H cleavage barrier, rapidly feeding hydrogen intermediates to the adjacent Ru<sub>NC</sub> for efficient hydrogen desorption. This work establishes a robust blueprint for designing synergistic dual-site architectures to circumvent kinetic bottlenecks in green hydrogen production.