Nickel metaphosphate supported ruthenium for all pH hydrogen evolution: From single atom, cluster to nanoparticle
Dewen Wang, Dongxu Jiao, Ming Gong, Huafeng Fan, Yu‐Ting Chen, Lezhi Wang, Jinchang Fan, Jiandong Wu, David J. Singh, Jingxiang Zhao, Weitao Zheng, Xiaoqiang Cui
Abstract
Single-atom catalysts have attracted extensive attention due to their unique performances and high atom utilization. However, is single atom always the best? Here we found a reverse case that nickel metaphosphate (NPO) supported nanoparticles (Run) is much better than single atoms (Rus) for all pH hydrogen evolution. The mass activity of Run-NPO is 3.8 times higher than that of Rus-NPO, and 21.4 times higher than that of Pt/C in alkaline media. The results show that Ru nanoparticle possess lower valence state than single atom, providing optimized Ru-H bond strength and suitable hydrogen adsorption free energy. As a novel support, NPO is also essential for firmly anchoring Ru and transporting electrons for optimizing the d-band center, and eventually accelerating the H2O dissociation in rate-limiting Volmer step. This work gives Ru-NPO promising potential for practical hydrogen production, and sheds light on the exploration of supported metal catalysts in energy conversion-related fields.