Spatially Confined PdH Metallenes by Tensile Strained Atomic Ru Layers for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Hydride metallenes offer potential for hydrogen-related catalysis due to their electronic structures and surface areas.
• Controlling strain in metallene nanostructures is crucial for optimizing stability and catalytic behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate highly stable palladium hydride metallenes with a controlled tensile strained ruthenium surface layer.
• To investigate the spatial confinement effect of the ruthenium skin on catalytic performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of PdH@Ru metallenes with a 4.5% expanded Ru outer layer.
• Spectroscopic characterizations and molecular dynamics simulations.
• Electrocatalytic testing for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• Control experiments and first-principles calculations.

Main Results:

• PdH@Ru metallenes exhibited outstanding alkaline HER activity with a low overpotential (30 mV at 10 mA cm^-2).
• Exceptional stability was observed with negligible activity decay after 10,000 cycles.
• Performance surpassed commercial Pt/C and most reported Ru-based electrocatalysts.

Conclusions:

• The tensile strained Ru outer layer effectively lowers the energy barrier for H₂O dissociation.
• The engineered nanostructure provides optimal hydrogen adsorption energy for enhanced HER.
• These findings highlight the potential of strain engineering in hydride metallenes for advanced catalysis.