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Nanoheterostructures of Partially Oxidized RuNi Alloy as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Lin Gaoxin,
Wang Yuandong,
Hong Jinhua,
Suenaga Kazu,
Liu Lijia,
Chang LoYueh,
Pao ChihWen,
Zhang Tao,
Zhao Wei,
Huang Fuqiang,
Yang Minghui,
Sun YiYang,
Wang Jiacheng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.202000213
Subject(s) - bifunctional , water splitting , oxygen evolution , catalysis , materials science , chemical engineering , electrolysis of water , electrocatalyst , electrolysis , nanotechnology , alloy , oxide , chemistry , electrochemistry , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , photocatalysis , engineering , electrolyte
Electrocatalytic water splitting, as one of the most promising methods to store renewable energy generated by intermittent sources, such as solar and wind energy, has attracted tremendous attention in recent years. Developing efficient, robust, and green catalysts for the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) is of great interest. This study concerns a facile and green approach for producing RuNi/RuNi oxide nanoheterostructures by controllable partial oxidation of RuNi nanoalloy, which is characterized and confirmed by various techniques, including high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron‐based X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. This nanoheterostructure demonstrates outstanding bifunctional activities for catalyzing the HER and OER with overpotentials that are both among the lowest reported values. In a practical alkali–water‐splitting electrolyzer, it also achieves a record‐low cell voltage of 1.42 V at 10 mA cm −2 , which is significantly superior to the commercial RuO 2 //Pt/C couple and other reported bifunctional water‐splitting electrocatalysts. Density functional theory calculations are employed to elaborate the effect of Ni incorporation. This simple catalyst preparation approach is expected to be transferrable to other electrocatalytic reactions.