Scholarlink

<p>The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for clean energy conversion, yet achieving efficient and durable electrocatalysis across a wide pH range remains a major challenge. Modulating the electronic structure of metal single atoms has shown promise, but is often constrained by weak metal–support interactions in conventional carbon matrices. Here, we report a pH–universal HER electrocatalyst comprising atomically dispersed Ru sites and carbon–confined Ru nanoparticles, synthesized via one–step pyrolysis of biomass–derived precursors. The catalyst delivered low overpotentials of 176 mV (Tafel slope: 23 mV dec<sup>–1</sup>) in acidic and 241 mV (40 mV dec<sup>–1</sup>) in alkaline media at 200 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>, along with outstanding operational stability exceeding 500 hours—outperforming commercial Pt/C. This performance arises from electron–rich Ru single atoms (RuN<sub>4</sub>) modulated by neighboring Ru nanoparticles, synergistically embedded within a hydrophilic and porous carbon scaffold. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed a near–optimal hydrogen adsorption free energy (ΔG<sub>H*</sub> = –0.25 eV) in acidic conditions and a moderate water dissociation barrier (0.94 eV) in alkaline media. Our findings demonstrate a viable strategy for integrating nanoparticles and single atoms to achieve both high activity and durability, while highlighting the upcycling of biomass into advanced HER catalysts via rational interface engineering.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Electronic reconfiguration of Ru single atoms by carbon–confined Ru nanoparticles enables pH–universal hydrogen evolution

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月13日

查看全文
  • Chengyu Zhang,
  • Longyu Wang,
  • Fabrice Ndayisenga,
  • Anam Jalil,
  • Yiming Zhang,
  • Zhisheng Yu

摘要

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for clean energy conversion, yet achieving efficient and durable electrocatalysis across a wide pH range remains a major challenge. Modulating the electronic structure of metal single atoms has shown promise, but is often constrained by weak metal–support interactions in conventional carbon matrices. Here, we report a pH–universal HER electrocatalyst comprising atomically dispersed Ru sites and carbon–confined Ru nanoparticles, synthesized via one–step pyrolysis of biomass–derived precursors. The catalyst delivered low overpotentials of 176 mV (Tafel slope: 23 mV dec–1) in acidic and 241 mV (40 mV dec–1) in alkaline media at 200 mA cm–2, along with outstanding operational stability exceeding 500 hours—outperforming commercial Pt/C. This performance arises from electron–rich Ru single atoms (RuN4) modulated by neighboring Ru nanoparticles, synergistically embedded within a hydrophilic and porous carbon scaffold. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed a near–optimal hydrogen adsorption free energy (ΔGH* = –0.25 eV) in acidic conditions and a moderate water dissociation barrier (0.94 eV) in alkaline media. Our findings demonstrate a viable strategy for integrating nanoparticles and single atoms to achieve both high activity and durability, while highlighting the upcycling of biomass into advanced HER catalysts via rational interface engineering.