Work

Lattice‐Matched Ru/W 2 C Heterointerfaces with Reversible Hydrogen Spillover for Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The effect of lattice‐matched heterointerfaces on the hydrogen reverse spillover process for accelerating alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) kinetics has not yet been reported. Herein, a lattice‐matched Ru/W 2 C heterostructure is successfully constructed for effective hydrogen production. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that the Ru nanocluster can effectively stabilize W 2 C and thus promote the formation of phase‐pure W 2 C in the Ru/W 2 C heterostructure. In addition, it is revealed that H 2 O dissociation proceeded on W 2 C, and the formed H intermediates are subsequently migrated to adjacent interfacial Ru sites for H─H coupling and H 2 release. This is enabled via a reversible hydrogen spillover mechanism promoted by the lattice‐matched heterointerfaces that can weaken interfacial proton adsorption. As expected, the Ru/W 2 C heterogeneous electrocatalyst exhibited a superior HER performance with a low overpotential of 17 mV at 10 mA cm −2 , a high mass current density (6.44 A mg Ru −1 ), and a low turnover frequency (TOF) value (2.8 s −1 ) at the overpotential of 100 mV, far overwhelming the benchmark Ru/C and Pt/C. The study may offer a new perspective for the design of highly active electrocatalysts for alkaline HER.

Source: Advanced Energy Materials

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202405546