Isolated Ni Atoms Dispersed on Ru Nanosheets: High-Performance Electrocatalysts toward Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction.
Junjie MaoChun-Ting HeJiajing PeiYan LiuJun LiWenxing ChenDongsheng HeDingsheng S WangYadong LiPublished in: Nano letters (2020)
Designing low-cost, high-efficiency, platinum-free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in an alkaline electrolyte is of great importance for the development of anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Herein, we report a novel HOR catalyst, RuNi1, in which Ni is atomically dispersed on the Ru nanocrystals. To note, the as-prepared RuNi1 catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability for HOR in alkaline media, which is superior to those of Ru-Ni bimetallic nanocrystals, pristine Ru, and commercial Pt/C catalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that isolation of Ni atoms on Ru nanocrystals not only optimizes the hydrogen-binding energy but also decreases the free energy of water formation, thus leading to excellent electrocatalytic activity of RuNi1 catalyst. The results show that engineering a catalyst at an atomic level is highly effective for rational design of electrocatalysts with high performance.
Keyphrases
- metal organic framework
- energy transfer
- density functional theory
- visible light
- room temperature
- ionic liquid
- molecular dynamics
- low cost
- high efficiency
- reduced graphene oxide
- quantum dots
- highly efficient
- induced apoptosis
- transition metal
- hydrogen peroxide
- electron transfer
- cell cycle arrest
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- binding protein
- nitric oxide
- dna binding