Ru Nanoparticle-Anchored MoO<sub>2</sub> Nanoflowers as Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Pinyun Ren, Wei Wang, Yilun Hong, Yi Zheng, Xianpei Ren, Wenhan Du, Yuanfu Chen, Shi-Hua Tan, Wanli Zhang
Abstract
Exploration of highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen production is critically important for their practical applications in water splitting. Herein, we present Ru nanoparticle-anchored MoO 2 nanoflowers as an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The Ru/MoO 2 catalysts are synthesized by a mild hydrothermal route combined with thermal reduction. The strong electronic interactions between Ru and MoO 2 confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations lead to better hydrogen adsorption abilities and produce many more active sites. As a result, the optimized Ru/MoO 2 hybrid delivers outstanding HER performance in an acid solution, with a low overpotential of 39 mV to reach an electric current density of 10 mA/cm 2, a small Tafel slope of 50 mV/dec, and superior long-term stability. The work presents a good strategy to develop efficient and stable HER catalysts by introducing strong electronic interactions.