Modulating electronic structure of metal-organic frameworks by introducing atomically dispersed Ru for efficient hydrogen evolution
Yamei Sun, Ziqian Xue, Qinglin Liu, Yaling Jia, Yinle Li, Kang Liu, Yiyang Lin, Min Liu, Guangqin Li, Cheng‐Yong Su
Abstract
Abstract Developing high-performance electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction is important for clean and sustainable hydrogen energy, yet still challenging. Herein, we report a single-atom strategy to construct excellent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalyst (NiRu 0.13 -BDC) by introducing atomically dispersed Ru. Significantly, the obtained NiRu 0.13 -BDC exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution activity in all pH, especially with a low overpotential of 36 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1 M phosphate buffered saline solution, which is comparable to commercial Pt/C. X-ray absorption fine structures and the density functional theory calculations reveal that introducing Ru single-atom can modulate electronic structure of metal center in the MOF, leading to the optimization of binding strength for H 2 O and H*, and the enhancement of HER performance. This work establishes single-atom strategy as an efficient approach to modulate electronic structure of MOFs for catalyst design.