Inner Co Synergizing Outer Ru Supported on Carbon Nanotubes for Efficient pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis

Exploring highly active but inexpensive electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)is of critical importance for hydrogen production from electrochemical water splitting.Herein,we report a multicomponent catalyst with exceptional activity and durability for HER,in which cobalt nanoparticles were in-situ confined inside bamboo-like carbon nanotubes(CNTs)while ultralow ruthenium loading(~2.6μg per electrode area~cm^(−2))is uniformly deposited on their exterior walls(Co@CNTsǀRu).The atomic-scale structural investigations and theoretical calculations indicate that the confined inner Co and loaded outer Ru would induce charge redistribution and a synergistic electron coupling,not only optimizing the adsorption energy of H intermediates(ΔGH*)but also facilitating the electron/mass transfer.The as-developed Co@CNTsǀRu composite catalyst requires overpotentials of only 10,32,and 63 mV to afford a current density of 10 mA cm^(−2) in alkaline,acidic and neutral media,respectively,representing top-level catalytic activity among all reported HER catalysts.The current work may open a new insight into the rational design of carbon-supported metal catalysts for practical applications.