Facile Deposition of a Spherical Ruthenium–Cobalt Alloy on Nickel Foam as a High-Performance Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Hydrogen Production
Muhammad Ali Ehsan, Abuzar Khan, Muhammad Ali, M.A. Gondal, Abbas Saeed Hakeem
Abstract
Alkaline water electrolysis has the potential to become an important method for producing green hydrogen and achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Consequently, the development of catalysts with higher catalytic values for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential for advancing the water-splitting technology. This study introduces a facile deposition strategy using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition to fabricate a bimetallic RuCo alloy on nickel foam (NF), which serves as a Pt-free, high-performance HER catalyst under alkaline conditions. The synergy between Co and Ru, along with the structural advantages of RuCo@NF, significantly enhances the electrocatalytic performance. The optimized RuCo@NF catalyst exhibited HER activity, achieving current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm –2 at low overpotentials of 17 and 100 mV, respectively. Moreover, it had a minimal Tafel slope of 42 mV dec –1 and demonstrated stability over 24 h, surpassing that of the benchmark Pt/C catalyst when measured in 1.0 M KOH. Furthermore, density functional theory analysis validated the experimental results, revealing a lower Gibbs free energy value for the RuCo alloy (−0.35 eV) compared to that of metallic Ru (−0.50 eV) and Co (−0.57 eV) in the HER process. This study presents a convenient pathway for the development of a highly active and robust bimetallic thin-film electrocatalyst, demonstrating its potential for hydrogen production in fuel cells.