C<sub>60</sub> Fullerenol to Stabilize and Activate Ru Nanoparticles for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media
Yaozhou Li, Tingting Xu, Qi Huang, Longtao Zhu, Yingying Yan, Ping Peng, Fangfang Li
Abstract
Ruthenium (Ru)-based catalysts exhibited great potential for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. However, the strong adsorption of H on the Ru surface and the undesirable agglomeration of Ru are obstacles to further boosting their hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Herein, we develop C 60 fullerenol C 60 (OH) 24 to stabilize, disperse, and activate Ru nanoparticles through Ru–O–C 60 connections. Despite the ultrahigh Ru content (38.6 wt %), Ru nanoparticles are densely and uniformly dispersed on the C 60 substrate due to the anchoring and confinement effects of C 60 fullerenols. Moreover, the electron-withdrawing properties of C 60 induce the electrons to flow from Ru to C 60 through the Ru–O–C 60 interface, which enhances the electronic metal–support interaction, thereby optimizing the adsorption behavior of different intermediates. The synthesized Ru–OC 60 -300 has a remarkably small overpotential (4.6 mV at 10 mA cm –2 ) and Tafel slope (24.7 mV dec –1 ), showing high activity and stability toward alkaline HER. Density functional theory simulations reveal that the Ru–O–C 60 interface engineering weakens the Ru–H affinity, promotes water dissociation, and accelerates the hydrogen evolution kinetics.