Phase-Engineered Bi-RuO₂ Single-Atom Alloy Oxide Boosting Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysis in Proton Exchange...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Engineering single-atomic sites in nanomaterials offers superior catalytic properties.
• Developing efficient electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) is crucial for green hydrogen production.
• Challenges remain in achieving high performance and stability for RuO2-based catalysts in acidic media.

Purpose of the Study:

• To rationally design and construct a bismuth-ruthenium oxide single-atom alloy oxide (Bi-RuO2 SAAO) electrocatalyst.
• To enhance the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance for PEMWE.
• To investigate the mechanism of improved activity and stability.

Main Methods:

• Phase engineering of a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) RuBi single-atom alloy.
• Fabrication of Bi-RuO2 SAAO electrocatalyst.
• Operando differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy (DEMS) analysis.
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• The Bi-RuO2 SAAO catalyst achieved a low OER overpotential of 192 mV.
• Demonstrated superb stability exceeding 650 hours at 10 mA cm-2.
• Enabled a practical PEMWE operating at 1.59 V to reach 1.0 A cm-2 under industrial conditions.
• Confirmed adsorbate-evolving mechanism and identified Bi incorporation as key to enhanced activity and stability.

Conclusions:

• The developed Bi-RuO2 SAAO represents a significant advancement in single-atom electrocatalyst design.
• This strategy offers a new pathway for fabricating high-performance catalysts at the atomic level.
• The study highlights the potential of Bi-RuO2 SAAO for industrial water electrolysis applications.