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Updated: Feb 19, 2026
Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Ruthenium Ion-Complexed Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets Supported on Reduced Graphene Oxide as High-Performance
Yi Peng1, Wanzhang Pan1, Nan Wang2
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, 156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA.
Abstract:
Carbon-based materials are promising, low-cost electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), although the catalytic performance needs to be further improved before commercialization. In this study, ruthenium ions are incorporated into graphitic carbon nitride/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrids to form Ru-C3 N4 /rGO composites through Ru-N coordination bonds. The incorporation of Ru ions, at a loading of 1.93 at. %, leads to electron redistribution within the materials and dramatically enhances the HER performance over those of C3 N4 , C3 N4 /rGO, and Ru-C3 N4 , with an overpotential of only -80 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 , a Tafel slope of 55 mV dec-1 , and an exchange current density of 0.462 mA cm-2 . This performance is comparable to that of Pt/C, and ascribed to the positive shift of the conduction band of the composite, where the charge carrier density increases by a factor of about 250 over that of C3 N4 , leading to a lower energy barrier for hydrogen evolution. The results suggest a new strategy in the design and engineering of functional nanocomposites for effective HER electrocatalysis by embedding select metal ions into carbon-based molecular skeletons.
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