Synergetic Oxidized Mg and Mo Sites on Amorphous Ru Metallene Boost Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis

Abstract

Abstract Ruthenium (Ru) is considered as a promising catalyst for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), yet its weak water adsorption ability hinders the water splitting efficiency. Herein, a concept of introducing the oxygenophilic MgO x and MoO y species onto amorphous Ru metallene is demonstrated through a simple one‐pot salt‐templating method for the synergic promotion of water adsorption and splitting to greatly enhance the alkaline HER electrocatalysis. The atomically thin MgO x and MoO y species on Ru metallene (MgO x /MoO y ‐Ru) show a 15.3‐fold increase in mass activity for HER at the potential of 100 mV than that of Ru metallene and an ultralow overpotential of 8.5 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . It is further demonstrated that the MgO x /MoO y ‐Ru‐based anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer can achieve a high current density of 100 mA cm −2 at a remarkably low cell voltage of 1.55 V, and exhibit excellent durability of over 60 h at a current density of 500 mA cm −2 . In situ spectroscopy and theoretical simulations reveal that the co‐introduction of MgO x and MoO y enhances interfacial water adsorption and splitting by promoting adsorption on oxidized Mg sites and lowering the dissociation energy barrier on oxidized Mo sites.