Facile synthesis of Ru nanoclusters embedded in carbonaceous shells for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline and acidic media

Author(s)

Khalid, Mohmmad ; Fonseca, Henrique A. B. ; Verga, Lucas G. ; Hatshan, Mohammad Rafe ; Da Silva, Juarez L. F. ; Varela, Hamilton ; Shahgaldi, Samaneh

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; v. 929, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-04.

Abstract

Exploring effective electrocatalyst with low-cost for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is highly desirable for commercial hydrogen production. Herein, a heterogeneous nanostructured catalyst is synthesized by implanting Ru nanoclusters into N and S co-doped carbonaceous shell using a simple thermal condensation of glucose and thiourea with ruthenium chloride precursors followed by carbonization. Due to the unique structural design and synergistic effect of Ru nanoclusters embedded in N, S co-doped carbonaceous shell (NSC), the compositionally tuned catalyst (Ru/NSC-200) tends to show HER activity with overpotentials of 50 and 110 mV at 10 mA cm-2 current density in 1 M KOH and 1 M KHCO3 solutions, respectively. The catalyst exhibits mass activity of 10- and 1.2-times greater than those of commercial Pt/C (20 wt%) in 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions, which reveals the techno-economic trait of the catalyst. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the NSC induces a strong interaction with Ru, facilitating fast electron transfer during the catalysis. This work provides a simple and straightforward approach to develop effective catalyst in the realm of hydrogen evolution reaction. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/21401-7 - Multi-User Equipment approved in grant 2017/11631-2: cluster computational de alto desempenho - ENIAC
• Grantee: Juarez Lopes Ferreira da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 17/11631-2 - CINE: computational materials design based on atomistic simulations, meso-scale, multi-physics, and artificial intelligence for energy applications
• Grantee: Juarez Lopes Ferreira da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research Centers in Engineering Program
• FAPESP's process: 19/05561-7 - A Multiscale Framework Applied to the Investigation of CO2 Reduction on Metallic Nanoparticles: The Role of Size and Adsorbate Coverage Effects
• Grantee: Lucas Garcia Verga
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 21/07129-5 - CO2 reduction on Cu-Au intermetallic surfaces: atomic ordering and adsorbate coverage effects
• Grantee: Lucas Garcia Verga
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 21/05728-9 - Theoretical investigation of transition-metal clusters supported on 2D materials as catalyst candidates for the CO2 reduction
• Grantee: Henrique Alves Bacco Fonseca
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)