Durable Ru Nanocrystal with HfO_(2)Modification for Acidic Overall Water Splitting

Durable and efficient bi-functional catalyst,that is capable of both oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction under acidic condition,are highly desired for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.Herein,we report a robust L-Ru/HfO_(2)heterostructure constructed via confining crystalline Ru nanodomains by HfO_(2)matrix.When assembled with a proton exchange membrane,the bi-functional L-Ru/HfO_(2)catalyst-based electrolyzer presents a voltage of 1.57 and 1.67 V to reach 100 and 300 mA cm^(-2)current density,prevailing most of previously reported Ru-based materials as well as commercial Pt/C||RuO_(2)electrolyzer.It is revealed that the synergistic effect of HfO_(2)modification and small crystalline domain formation significantly alleviates the over-oxidation of Ru.More importantly,this synergistic effect facilitates a dual-site oxide path during the oxygen evolution procedure via optimization of the binding configurations of oxygenated adsorbates.As a result,the Ru active sites maintain the metallic state along with reduced energy barrier for the rate-determining step(^(*)O→^(*)OOH).Both of water adsorption and dissociation(Volmer step)are strengthened,while a moderate hydrogen binding is achieved to accelerate the hydrogen desorption procedure(Tafel step).Consequently,the activity and stability of acidic overall water splitting are simultaneously enhanced.