Abstract
Developing efficient, robust, and cost-effective catalysts to boost the electrocatalytic properties of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for overall water splitting is fundamentally important yet very challenging. Herein, we report a facile method to prepare Ru-based aerogels for HER, OER, and water electrolysis. Specifically, Ru aerogel exhibits comparable HER performance with Pt/C, evidenced by a close overpotential at 10 mA cm −2 , a smaller Tafel slope, and an outperformed long-term stability. Among a series of RuCo aerogels, the Ru 0.7 Co 0.3 aerogel has the best OER performance superior to the RuO 2 benchmark catalyst, with a very small overpotential of 272 mV at 10 mA cm −2 , a low Tafel slope value of 41.6 mV dec −1 , and the improved long-term durability. The excellent OER performance of the Ru 0.7 Co 0.3 aerogel is mainly attributed to the RuCo synergistic catalytic effect, the abundant oxygen vacancies, and the structural merits of the sample. Notably, in the practical overall water splitting test, the combined Ru and Ru 0.7 Co 0.3 aerogel catalyst outperforms the Pt/C + RuO 2 couple. This study can shed light on preparation of metal aerogel-based bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting and beyond. • A facile method for synthesizing Ru and RuCo aerogel is developed. • Ru aerogel exhibits comparable HER performance with Pt/C. • Ru 0.7 Co 0.3 aerogel has the superior OER performance to RuO 2 . • Oxygen vacancies play a critical role for enhancing OER performance. • Ru/Ru 0.7 Co 0.3 aerogels outperform Pt/C + RuO 2 couple in water splitting.
Published Version
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