Co-Ru alloy nanoparticles decorated onto two-dimensional nitrogen doped carbon nanosheets towards hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction

Constructing highly-efficient electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)/oxygen evolution reaction(OER)/oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)with excellent stability is quite important for the development of renewable energy-related applications.Herein,Co-Ru based compounds supported on nitrogen doped two-dimensional(2D)carbon nanosheets(NCN)are developed via one step pyrolysis procedure(Co-Ru/NCN)for HER/ORR and following low-temperature oxidation process(Co-Ru@RuO_(x)/NCN)for OER.The specific 2D morphology guarantees abundant active sites exposure.Furthermore,the synergistic effects arising from the interaction between Co and Ru are crucial in enhancing the catalytic performance.Thus,the resulting Co-Ru/NCN shows remarkable electrocatalytic performance for HER(70 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2))in 1 M KOH and ORR(half-wave potential E_(1/2)=0.81 V)in 0.1 M KOH.Especially,the Co-Ru@RuO_(x)/NCN obtained by oxidation exhibits splendid OER performance in both acid(230 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2))and alkaline media(270 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2))coupled with excellent stability.Consequently,the fabricated two-electrode water-splitting device exhibits excellent performance in both acidic and alkaline environments.This research provides a promising avenue for the advancement of multifunctional nanomaterials.

Graphdiyne scaffold anchored highly dispersed ruthenium nanoparticles as an efficient cathode catalyst for rechargeable Li-CO_(2) battery

Lithium (Li)-CO_(2) battery is rising as an attractive energy-storage system with the competence of CO_(2) conversion/fixation. However, its practical development is seriously hindered by the high overpotential. Herein, a rational design on a highly catalytic Li-CO_(2) battery electrode built by graphdiyne powder as a multi-functional laminar scaffold with anchored highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles is explored. The strong interaction between the abundant acetylenic bond sites of graphdiyne scaffold and Ru nanoparticles can effectively promote the electrochemical progress and reduce the voltage polarization. The unique channels architecture of the cathodic catalyst with enough space not only accelerates CO_(2) diffusion and electrons/Li+ transport, but also allows a large amount of accommodation for discharged product (Li2CO3) to assure an advanced capacity. The corresponding Li-CO_(2) battery displays an advanced discharged capacity of 15,030 mAh/g at 500 mA/g, great capacity retention of 8873 mAh/g at 2 A/g, high coulombic efficiency of 97.6% at 500 mA/g and superior life span for 120 cycles with voltage gap of 1.67 V under a restricted capacity of 1000 mAh/g at 500 mA/g. Ex/in-situ studies prove that synergy between Ru nanoparticles and acetylene bonds of GDY can boost the round-trip CO_(2)RR and CO_(2)ER kinetics.