Ultrafast Synthesis of Phosphorus-Doped RuMoO_x Electrocatalyst via Pulsed Joule Heating for Efficient Hydrogen...

Developing efficient, low-cost electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for sustainable hydrogen production through water electrolysis. Herein, we report a phosphorus-doped ruthenium-molybdenum oxide catalyst supported on nickel foam (RuMoO_x-P/NF) synthesized via two-step immersing and rapid pulsed Joule heating. RuMo-based nanoparticles are uniformly loaded on the NF substrate, and phosphorus doping could modulate the electronic properties of RuMoO_x-P/NF. The obtained RuMoO_x-P/NF exhibits exceptional HER performance in alkaline media, requiring low overpotentials of 16 and 70 mV to achieve current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^-2, respectively-outperforming its undoped counterpart and commercial Pt/C. It also demonstrates outstanding stability with negligible activity loss after 100 h of operation. Various pH-dependent experiments, cyclic voltammetry, and step current experiments demonstrate the strong hydrogen adsorption capacity of RuMoO_x-P/NF catalyst, significantly accelerating the HER. The temperature-controlled electrochemical experiments confirm lower HER activation energy of RuMoO_x-P/NF than that of phosphorus-free counterpart. This study offers a viable strategy for designing highly active and stable low-precious-metal HER electrocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production.