Carbon-Quantum-Dots-Loaded Ruthenium Nanoparticles as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Media

Weidong Li; Yuan Liu; Min Wu; Xiaolei Feng; Simon A T Redfern; Yuan Shang; Xue Yong; Tanglue Feng; Kaifeng Wu; Zhongyi Liu; Baojun Li; Zhimin Chen; John S Tse; Siyu Lu; Bai Yang

doi:10.1002/adma.201800676

Carbon-Quantum-Dots-Loaded Ruthenium Nanoparticles as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Media

Adv Mater. 2018 Aug;30(31):e1800676. doi: 10.1002/adma.201800676. Epub 2018 Jun 19.

Authors

Weidong Li¹, Yuan Liu², Min Wu³, Xiaolei Feng⁴, Simon A T Redfern⁴, Yuan Shang⁵, Xue Yong⁶, Tanglue Feng⁷, Kaifeng Wu⁸, Zhongyi Liu¹, Baojun Li¹, Zhimin Chen², John S Tse⁶, Siyu Lu^{1

7}, Bai Yang⁷

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
² College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
⁴ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EQ, Cambridge, UK.
⁵ Supercomputer Center in Smart City Institute, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
⁶ Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N5E2, Canada.
⁷ State Key Lab of Supramolecular Structure and Materials College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.

PMID: 29920795
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201800676

Abstract

Highly active, stable, and cheap Pt-free catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are facing increasing demand as a result of their potential use in future energy-conversion systems. However, the development of HER electrocatalysts with Pt-like or even superior activity, in particular ones that can function under alkaline conditions, remains a significant challenge. Here, the synthesis of a novel carbon-loaded ruthenium nanoparticle electrocatalyst (Ru@CQDs) for the HER, using carbon quantum dots (CQDs), is reported. Electrochemical tests reveal that, even under extremely alkaline conditions (1 m KOH), the as-formed Ru@CQDs exhibits excellent catalytic behavior with an onset overpotential of 0 mV, a Tafel slope of 47 mV decade^-1 , and good durability. Most importantly, it only requires an overpotential of 10 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm^-2 . Such catalytic characteristics are superior to the current commercial Pt/C and most noble metals, non-noble metals, and nonmetallic catalysts under basic conditions. These findings open a new field for the application of CQDs and add to the growing family of metal@CQDs with high HER performance.

Keywords: alkaline media; carbon quantum dots; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution; ruthenium nanoparticles.