Amorphous/Crystalline Heterojunction Engineered High-Density Strain in RuSeTe for Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts face challenges with high overpotentials and sluggish kinetics in alkaline media.
• Current electrocatalysts limit the practical application of HER due to efficiency and durability issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel electrocatalysts for efficient and durable alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• To investigate the impact of amorphous/crystalline heterojunctions and tensile strain on HER performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Ruthenium-Selenium-Tellurium (RuSeTe)-based electrocatalysts with controlled amorphous/crystalline heterojunctions.
• Theoretical calculations and experimental analyses to understand strain effects on d-band center and adsorption energy.
• Electrochemical testing to evaluate overpotential, Tafel slope, and durability.

Main Results:

• High-density tensile strain induced by heterojunctions optimized catalyst properties.
• Achieved an ultralow overpotential of 20 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 33 mV dec⁻¹.
• Demonstrated sustained durability for 1100 hours at 100 mA cm⁻².

Conclusions:

• Amorphous/crystalline heterointerface engineering is a universal strategy for inducing high-density strain in electrocatalysts.
• The developed RuSeTe catalysts offer superior performance and stability for alkaline HER.
• This work provides insights for designing efficient and stable HER catalysts.