Ru Nanoclusters Coupled on Co/N-Doped Carbon Nanotubes Efficiently Catalyzed the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Liu Zong, Xudong Yang, Guangzhi Hu, Ligang Feng
Abstract
Seeking reliable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is currently a big challenge for hydrogen production in water splitting. Herein, we demonstrated that Ru nanoclusters anchored on Co/N-doped carbon nanotubes (Ru@Co/N-CNTs) are highly active for HER both in acid and alkaline electrolytes. The catalyst can be fabricated by facile and controlled steps involving the Co self-catalyzed Co/N-doped carbon nanotube formation and the subsequent Ru nanocluster deposition by a galvanic replacement reaction. The spectroscopic and morphological observations confirmed the self-catalyzed Co/N-doped carbon nanotube fabrication and Ru nanocluster deposition. Because of the strong electronic effect and high exposure of Ru active sites, this optimal hybrid catalyst exhibited remarkable catalytic activity and superior stability toward HER. It required low overpotentials of 48 and 92 mV to offer 10 mA cm–2 in alkaline and acidic media, respectively, which outperformed most of the Ru-based and Co-based catalysts reported in the literature. The high catalytic activity, stability, as well as the catalytic efficiency expressed by the specific activity and cost per current density of the prepared catalyst were also analyzed by comparing with those of Ru/C and Pt/C, and the higher cost efficiency makes it a very promising alternative HER catalyst.