Lanthanum and tungsten co-doped ruthenium dioxide for fresh/sea-water alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Due to the continuous development of electrocatalytic technology in hydrogen energy production, various catalysts are investigated for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Among them, ruthenium (Ru) based catalysts are widely studied due to their high activity and platinum-like properties. Herein, tungsten (W) and lanthanum (La) dual-doping strategy is exploited to assist in improving the HER performance of RuO2 (W/La-RuO2), achieving by solution evaporation and calcination. Dual doping of W and La produces a synergistic effect that enables electronic modulation and then plays a key role on the enhancement of catalytic properties. The obtained W/La-RuO2 exhibits excellent HER performance in alkaline freshwater and alkaline seawater, with 22 mV and 28 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2. In addition, the self-assembled overall water splitting electrolyzer exhibits a small voltage of 1.53 V to achieve 10 mA cm−2 coupled with excellent stability. Moreover, the electrolyzer can driven by renewable energy, and then offering possibilities for practical applications. The bimetallic doping strategy provides a feasible solution for optimizing the performance of Ru-based catalysts.