Electrocatalyst of RuO2 decorating TiO2 nanowire arrays for acidic oxygen evolution

Abstract

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode limits the efficiency of hydrogen production from water electrolysis substantially. A novel electrocatalyst of RuO2 decorating TiO2 nanowire arrays for OER was successfully prepared using a cyclic voltammetric method with electrodeposition of RuO2 nanoparticles on the TiO2 nanowire (TNW) arrays synthesized hydrothermally. Even though the electrodes with the composite electrocatalyst have a lower loading of RuO2, they have higher electrocatalytic activity and stability for acidic oxygen evolution than the Ti/RuO2 electrode prepared by conventional thermal decomposition method. The core-shell structure of the TNW@RuO2 electrocatalyst not only increases the specific surface area of the electrodes, but also inhibits the adverse effect of the poor conductivity of TiO2. This novel OER electrocatalyst can improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of hydrogen production from electrolytic water splitting.