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Research Article | Open Access

Ru–Mo solid–solution catalyst for hydrogen evolution in alkaline electrolyte

Zhigang Chen1,§ (), Hangyun Zeng1,§, Chunyu Zhang2,§, Hang Cai1, Yaping Jiang1, Jiangyan Hu1, Hongyu Wang1, Juan Wang3, Yi Cui2 ()
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China
i-lab, Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation (Nano-X), Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China

§ Zhigang Chen, Hangyun Zeng, and Chunyu Zhang contributed equally to this work.

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Benefiting from the pinning effect and local chemical- and electronic-structure regulations of Mo solute atoms, the ultrasmall Ru–Mo solid–solution nanocrystal catalyst exhibits an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction performance in alkaline electrolyte.

Abstract

Hydrogen energy carrier produced by water electrolysis in alkaline electrolytes is rather meaningful and significant for global sustainability imperatives, while the high-pH condition usually leads to a poor reversibility of proton adsorption and desorption that significantly determines the hydrogen-generation activity in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) process. Herein, we demonstrate a remarkable Ru–Mo solid–solution nanocrystal catalyst in alkaline HER process by a very simple but feasible pyrolysis and alkali leaching strategy. Benefiting from the pinning effect and local chemical- and electronic-structure regulations of Mo solute atoms, an ultra-low overpotential (17.3 mV) and an exceptional stability (> 100 h) at the typical current density of 10 mA·cm−2 are achieved on the ultrasmall Ru–Mo solid–solution nanocrystal catalyst in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Density function theory (DFT) calculations gain an insight into the synergistic effect of neighboring Ru and Mo sites in alkaline HER process, where Mo solute atoms are beneficial for the adsorption and activation of water molecules for proton generation and accumulation due to their rich outermost 4d vacant orbitals, while the energy-favorable Ru sites are responsible for the fast deprotonation kinetics of hydrogen intermediates. Our work may provide an interesting route for the development of efficient and stable solid–solution alloy nanocrystals towards alkaline water electrolysis and beyond.

Keywords

solid–solution alloyRu–Mo nanocrystalpinning effectchemical- and electronic-structure regulationsalkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

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Nano Research
Volume 18 Issue 5,
May 2025
Article number: 94907346
DOI: 10.26599/NR.2025.94907346
Cite this article:
Chen Z, Zeng H, Zhang C, et al. Ru–Mo solid–solution catalyst for hydrogen evolution in alkaline electrolyte. Nano Research, 2025, 18(5): 94907346. https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2025.94907346
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