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Updated: Jan 10, 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
Ultrafine Ru-M Alloy@S Vacancy-Rich MoS2 Nanosheets With Bimetallic Active Sites for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in
Rui Su1,2, Tiantian Ding3, Hao Tang2,3
1MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, GBRCE for Functional Molecular Engineering, LIFM, IGCME, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Abstract:
Developing efficient, scalable electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for industrial H2 production. Herein, ultrafine (≈1.7 nm) ruthenium-cobalt (RuCo) alloys anchored on Sulfur-vacancy-rich 1T phase molybdenum disulfide (1T phase MoS2-x) nanosheets (denoted as Ru2Co1-4@E-MoS2-x) are synthesized via ultrasonic microreactor (USMR) technology. The USMR strategy concurrently achieves a reduced alloy size, accelerated Ru reduction kinetics, and improved metal dispersion, endowing the resulting catalysts with high metal loading and abundant accessible active sites. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that Co incorporation optimizes RuCo electronic structure and strengthens interfacial coupling with 1T phase MoS2-x, lowering the Gibbs free energy of H* adsorption (ΔGH*) on both Ru and Co sites. This synergistic interaction establishes bimetallic active centers that overcome the adsorption-desorption trade-off in single-metal systems. In situ Raman spectroscopy further confirms that Co promotes water dissociation and hydrogen desorption at Ru sites under alkaline conditions. Consequently, Ru2Co1-4@E-MoS2-x exhibits exceptional HER activity, achieving record-low overpotentials of 31 mV in acidic and 36 mV in alkaline media at 10 mA·cm-2, significantly outperforming 20 wt% Pt/C (45 and 53 mV, respectively). Moreover, the USMR approach is universal, generating highly active RuM@E-MoS2-x catalysts (M = Fe, Ni, Cu). This work establishes a novel "bimetallic active sites/engineered carrier" paradigm for advanced electrocatalytic water splitting.
