Activation of stannic oxide by the incorporation of ruthenium oxide nanoparticles for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The demand for clean energy has been increasing rapidly in recent years, and hydrogen is one of the most promising fuels due to its high energy density and clean combustion. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a key process for hydrogen production, and developing efficient electrocatalysts is essential for HER. While this research is of great interest, it is still challenging to select an ideal material for electrochemical HER in an acidic condition. In this article, SnO2 is activated through the incorporation of a small amount of ruthenium oxide nanoparticles, serving as an auspicious catalyst characterized by exceptional catalytic stability in an acidic medium, outstanding charge transport ability, and abundance of active sites. Herein, the RuO2-SnO2 nanocomposite is synthesized through the precipitation method and characterized using XRD, XPS, TEM, EDX, and BET techniques. The electrochemical results show that the nanocomposite of 0.5 wt% RuO2/SnO2 has excellent electrocatalytic activity for HER, as evidenced by lower charge transfer resistance (0.08 kΩ), low onset potential (−0.02 V), and high Faradaic efficiency (97 %). It demonstrates a substantially reduced overpotential of 237 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2, alongside a minimal Tafel slope of 117 mV dec−1. The findings of the research will provide a promising strategy to design and synthesize high-performing catalysts for HER.