Facile Synthesis of PdCuRu Porous Nanoplates as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Medium

Abstract

Ru is a key component of electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), especially in alkaline media. However, the catalytic activity and durability of Ru-based HER electrocatalysts are still far from satisfactory. Here we report a solvothermal approach for the synthesis of PdCuRu porous nanoplates with different Ru compositions by using Pd nanoplates as the seeds. The PdCuRu porous nanoplates were formed through underpotential deposition (UPD) of Cu on Pd, followed by alloying Cu with Pd through interdiffusion and galvanic replacement between Cu atoms and Ru precursor simultaneously. When evaluated as HER electrocatalysts, the PdCuRu porous nanoplates exhibited excellent catalytic activity and durability. Of them, the Pd24Cu29Ru47/C achieved the lowest overpotential (40.7 mV) and smallest Tafel slope (37.5 mV dec−1) in an alkaline solution (much better than commercial Pt/C). In addition, the Pd24Cu29Ru47/C only lost 17% of its current density during a stability test for 10 h, while commercial Pt/C had a 59.5% drop under the same conditions. We believe that the electron coupling between three metals, unique porous structure, and strong capability of Ru for water dissociation are responsible for such an enhancement in HER performance.

Two-Dimensional Metal Nanostructures: From Theoretical Understanding to Experiment

“…Alloy nanosheets with more than two metal elements can be prepared using the strategies discussed above. − PdPtNi trimetallic nanosheets were synthesized by a solution-phase method using a Pd nanosheet as template Figure a and b show the TEM images for the as-prepared PdPtNi nanosheets.…”

Review of the Design of Ruthenium-Based Nanomaterials and Their Sensing Applications in Electrochemistry

“…Recently, the synthesis of multimetallic Ru-based composite has become a hot topic in recent decades because of its numerous significant applications. − Due to an electronic effect and multiple synergetic effects and increasing the surface area, multicomponent metallic NPs often show more unique catalytic active sites and high current responses, etc . Ru-based bi/multimetallic NPs have improved catalytic selectivity/activity, high stability, and great efficiency when compared to monometallic NPs. − Recently, for instance, Kivrak et al reported the synthesis of multimetallic Ru–Mo–Pd/MWCNT/GCE electrode as an enhanced EC sensitive detection of l -cysteine ( l -Cys) sensor. In fact, the EC behavior of Ru/MWCNT/GCE was superior to that of Ru–Mo–Pd/MWCNT/GCE, which showed an LOD of 0.1 μM, WLR of 5–200 μM, and with a sensitivity of 0.136 μA –1 μM –1 in the presence of l -Cys.…”