Nickel Ruthenium Research Articles

Ruthenium–Nickel Nanoparticles with Unconventional Face‐Centered Cubic Crystal Phase for Highly Active Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

AbstractRu‐based nanomaterials are promising alternatives to Pt electrocatalysts for green hydrogen energy generation, and crystal phase engineering holds the key to unlocking their catalytic potential to new heights. However, controllable phase regulation on Ru‐alloys remains a formidable challenge, and unraveling the crystal phase‐related electrocatalytic performance is of great significance. Herein, RuNi nanoparticles are successfully synthesized with an unconventional face‐centered cubic (fcc) phase via a facile route. Comprehensive transmission electron microscopy confirmed the structural characteristics of the fcc‐RuNi and electrochemical analyses indicate the impressive electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction of fcc‐RuNi. Notably, the anomalous fcc‐RuNi nanoparticles possess an extraordinarily low overpotential of 16 mV in hydrogen evolution. Density functional theory calculations indicate that these nanoparticles are energetically conducive to intermediate desorption and H2O dissociation. This study enhances comprehension of phase regulation in Ru‐based nanostructures and will propel phase engineering in diverse catalytic applications.

Elevated electrocatalytic activity of high-efficiency urea induces water electrolysis via a ruthenium nickel oxynitride electrocatalyst

Urea oxidation plays a role in the application of nickel components as living catalysts in energy transporters. Here, ruthenium-doped nickel oxynitride was synthesized with a hydrothermal method on a supported carbon nanotube (Ru@NiON/CNT) at 130 °C and annealed in nitrogen environment at 300 °C. The synthesis of Ru@NiON/CNT was confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Ru@NiON/CNT undergoes relatively strong charge-transfer transition and exhibits substantial redox characteristics, as shown by the electrochemical activity of a Ru@NiON/CNT electrocatalyst toward urea oxidation in an alkaline solution. The catalyst showed evidence of efficient oxygen evolution reaction and urea oxidation reaction capabilities, generating potentials of 1.51 and 1.27 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. A two-cell electrolyzer in alkaline for water and urea splitting using platinum–carbon and Ru@NiON/CNT as the cathode and anode, respectively, required a durability performance of 10 mA cm−2 and a cell voltage of 1.68 and 1.45 V. These findings offer an innovative strategy to explore stable and affordable noble and non–noble metal electrocatalysts for use in renewable energy conversion technologies.

The ex situ exsolved Ni–Ru alloy from nickel–ruthenium co-doped SrFeO3−δ perovskite as a potential catalyst for CC and CO hydrogenation

The Ni–Ru alloy dispersed on the brownmillerite support efficiently hydrogenates biomass model component furfural into furfuryl alcohol, a value-added chemical.

Correction: A focused ion beam-fabricated high-performance electrodeposited nickel–ruthenium–ruthenium oxide nano-supercapacitor

Correction for ‘A focused ion beam-fabricated high-performance electrodeposited nickel–ruthenium–ruthenium oxide nano-supercapacitor’ by Sudipta Biswas et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 20887–20893, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TA03734K.

A focused ion beam-fabricated high-performance electrodeposited nickel–ruthenium–ruthenium oxide nano-supercapacitor

Supercapacitor miniaturization is highly sought after due to the considerable demand for portable, flexible, and wearable microscale electronics.

Lattice Strain and Composition Effects on the Methanol Oxidation Performance of Platinum-Ruthenium-Nickel Ternary Nanocatalysts.

Ternary Pt-based structures are a positive progress in addressing the disadvantages of monometallic and bimetallic Pt-based alloys for the electrochemical oxidation process of simple alcohols, which is a vital half-reaction in fuel cell technologies. We herein report a facile NaBH4-assisted ethylene glycol reduction process for fabricating a series of nanosized PtRuNi ternary alloys to explore the relationship between physicochemical properties and electrocatalytic behaviors for the acidic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Owing to a balance between lattice strain and synergistic effects, the Pt60Ru20Ni20/C electrocatalyst shows the highest MOR efficiency with the mass activity/specific activity of 844.48 mA mgMetal-1/1.93 mA cm-2, being a 1.94 and 2.38 times increase compared to those of the PtRu catalyst, respectively. Also, the Pt60Ru20Ni20/C catalyst possesses superior CO-tolerance and durability in strongly acidic electrolytes. This work suggests that optimizing the surface strain and electronic effects can boost the overall MOR efficiency of multicomponent Pt-based materials, which can help to further develop next-generation catalysts for energy conversion-related technologies.

Ruthenium nickel bimetallic nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon mesoporous spheres as a superior catalyst for the hydrogenation of toxic nitroarenes

In this work, the ruthenium nickel bimetallic nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon mesoporous spheres (RuNi@ N-CMS) as a novel catalyst were designed and prepared. Hydrogenation of toxic p-nitrophenol into p-aminophenol was carried out in an aqueous medium using the prepared nanostructure. The as-synthesized RuNi@ N-CMS nanostructure displayed a better catalytic activity in comparison to both Ni@ N-CMS and Ru@ N-CMS nanostructures which can be ascribed to synergistic effects of ruthenium-nickel. In contrast to the nitrogen-doped catalyst, RuNi@CMS showed less activity, possibly because nitrogen acts as a secondary active site. The rate constant and TOF values were found to be 6.77 × 10-3 and 0.825 s−1 for hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol, respectively. Furthermore, RuNi@ N-CMS nanostructure was investigated in the reduction of nitroarene derivatives bearing electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups. According to the kinetics study and Hammett plot of the reduction of nitroarenes, the cationic transition state is involved in the catalytic reaction. Most importantly, the catalyst could be recovered and reused after five consecutive runs without significantly deactivating.

Bimetallic ruthenium–nickel alloy nanostructure supported on nickel foam for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution at large current density

A ruthenium–nickel alloy nanostructure exhibits a low overpotential and excellent activity stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction in 1 M KOH.

Metastable Metal–Alloy Interface in RuNi Nanoplates Boosts Highly Efficient Hydrogen Electrocatalysis

Designing a unique metastable interface provides a promising way to achieve high catalytic performance yet remains a great challenge due to the thermodynamics’ unstable nature. In this work, we constructed the stabilized metastable interface between metastable ruthenium–nickel alloy and metastable hexagonal–close-packed nickel via a one-step solvothermal method. The optimized nanocatalyst (denoted as hcp RuNi) shows bifunctional performance toward electrochemical hydrogen oxidation and evolution reactions (HOR/HER). Density functional theory calculations reveal that two different reaction sites at the unique interface contribute to the enhanced HER and HOR performances. This work highlights the important role on interface engineering of metastable materials for highly efficient catalysis.

Effect of salt addition on morphology and activity of in situ synthesized silica–ruthenium–nickel hollow sphere catalyst for hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Effect of salt addition on morphology and activity of in situ synthesized silica–ruthenium–nickel hollow sphere catalyst for hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Synthesis of novel activated carbon-supported trimetallic Pt–Ru–Ni nanoparticles using wood chips as efficient catalysts for the hydrogen generation from NaBH4 and enhanced photodegradation on methylene blue

A novel activated carbon (AC) supported trimetallic Platinum–Ruthenium–Nickel nanoparticles (AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs) synthesized as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen production from NaBH4 and enhanced photodegradation ability on methylene blue (MB) dye is reported. AC, which is used as a support material in nanoparticle synthesis, was produced from wood chips. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and UV–visible spectrophotometer (UV–Vis) are used for nanoparticles characterization. According to XRD analysis, the average crystal particle size was measured to be about 3.44 nm. In TEM analysis, the average particle size was determined as 2.44 nm. The photocatalytic activity of AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs was examined against MB azo dye and found to have 97% photocatalytic degradation at 300 min against MB. The catalyst activity of AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs in hydrogen production was determined by the methanolysis reaction from NaBH4. The Turnover of Frequency (TOF), Activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH), and entropy values (ΔS) values of the hydrogen production reaction were calculated as 1154.04 h−1, 24.29 kJ/mol, 26.83 kJ/mol, −198.76 J/mol.K, respectively. The study successfully achieved the recycling of wood waste, production of hydrogen, and photodegradation against MB dye. In this study, wood wastes were evaluated and it was aimed to be used in AC production and nanocatalyst synthesis. The efficiency of the synthesized AC@PtRuNi nanocatalyst in hydrogen production and its usability for cleaning dyes from wastewater was determined. The obtained results show that AC@PtRuNi nanocatalyst has potential usability both in hydrogen production and in applications for cleaning dyes from wastewater.

Highly Selective Synergistic N-Alkylation of Amines with ROH Catalyzed by Nickel–Ruthenium

Highly Selective Synergistic N-Alkylation of Amines with ROH Catalyzed by Nickel–Ruthenium

Facile water-free synthesis of noble metal-containing hydrotalcites-derived materials and their application for hydrotreatment of anisole

A novel, solvent-free, atom-efficient, and environmentally friendly method for preparing nickel-based hydrotalcite (HT) materials containing group VIII metals was established. A series of nickel-based (NiRu, NiRh, NiIr, NiSn, NiFe, NiCo, NiIn, and NiAl) HT-type materials were successfully synthesized using a facile water-free solid-state grinding method. The precursor-gel obtained by solid-state grinding facilitates efficient hydrolysis of metal salts by the use of ammonium hydroxide and results in the formation of layered HT materials. The presence of layered HT structure was evident from the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The method provides the complete conversion of metal precursors into the corresponding HT materials in an atom-efficient manner. The developed nickel-based HT materials were highly efficient and reusable catalysts for the hydrotreatment of the lignin-derived model compound, anisole. Among the several catalysts prepared, the one based on nickel-ruthenium catalysts showed complete conversion of anisole with 86% selectivity toward cyclohexane under optimum reaction conditions. The presence of in-situ generated metallic nickel‒ruthenium species on the surface of the catalyst, as evident from XPS, TEM, and XRD analysis of the spent catalyst, was responsible for the observed superior catalytic activity.

The Effects of Different Nickel–Ruthenium on SiO2 Catalyst Synthesis Methods toward Catalytic Activity of Methane Dry Reforming

The presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has triggered global warming and climate change. An effective approach to overcome these issues is to convert greenhouse gases into syngas. In this study, Ni-Ru/SiO<sub>2</sub> catalyst was used to catalyze the dry reforming process of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) and carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) into syngas. The catalyst was prepared using different synthesis protocols: sol gel-coprecipitation and impregnation methods. Characterization using Brunauer Emmett Teller analysis showed that the catalyst prepared using both methods exhibited comparable pore diameters and high surface areas. The X-ray diffractometer analysis also indicated the presence of different NiO, RuO<sub>2</sub>, and SiO<sub>2</sub> phases. Furthermore, the activity of the catalyst was investigated using a fixed bed reactor. Based on the results, the optimum catalytic activity was obtained from the catalyst prepared via the sol gel-coprecipitation method, with an average CH<sub>4</sub> and CO<sub>2 </sub>conversions of 37% and 50%, respectively. In addition, our catalyst also showed a 114% higher CH<sub>4</sub> conversion with an enhanced H<sub>2</sub>/CO ratio compared to identical catalysts from other studies.

Synthesis and thermal properties of the heterometallic nickel–ruthenium complex: a potential precursor for catalytically active nanosized Ni–Ru alloy

Thermal decomposition of the novel heterometallic complex [RuNO(NO2)4OHNi(En)2] results in a single-phase metastable solid solution Ni0.5Ru0.5. The catalytic activity of the prepared nanoalloy in the CO methanation reaction was demonstrated.

Layered-Rocksalt Intergrown Cathode for High-Capacity Zero-Strain Battery Operation

The continuous dependence on high-performance lithium-ion batteries leads to a pressing demand for advanced cathode materials of high energy density along with excellent cycling stability. Here we demonstrate a new concept of layered-rocksalt intergrown structure that harnesses the combined figures of merit from each individual phase, including the high capacity of layered and rocksalt phases, good kinetics of layered oxide and structural advantage of rocksalt phase. Based on this concept, lithium nickel ruthenium oxide of a main layered structure (R-3 m) with intergrown rocksalt (Fm-3 m) is developed, which delivers a high capacity with good rate performance. More importantly, the interwoven rocksalt structure successfully prevents the anisotropic structural change that is typical for the layered oxide, enabling a nearly zero-strain operation upon high-capacity cycling. Furthermore, a general design principle is successfully extrapolated and experimentally verified in a series of compositions. The success of such layered-rocksalt intergrown structure exemplifies a new concept of battery electrode design and opens up a vast space of compositions to develop high-performance intergrown cathodes for advanced energy storage devices.

Inter-doped ruthenium–nickel oxide heterostructure nanosheets with dual active centers for electrochemical-/solar-driven overall water splitting

Rational design and synthesis of transition-metal-oxides-based bifunctional catalysts with excellent activity and stability remain a challenge for efficient water splitting. Herein, integrating the active components of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) into novel inter-doped ruthenium-nickel oxide [(Ru-Ni)Ox] heterostructure by self-templated strategy is proposed. The (Ru-Ni)Ox electrode exhibits superb HER and OER activities with minimum overpotentials of 14.5 mV and 237.2 mV to afford 10 mA cm−2, respectively. According, a voltage of 1.48 V is required to drive 10 mA cm−2 for overall water-alkali splitting. The combined spectroscopy analysis and theory calculations reveal electronic structure regulation and potential-induced synergy, the modulation of the d-band center optimizes the adsorption energy of H* for enhanced HER on Ru-NiO, and NiO-derived NiOOH favors H2O dissociation for enhanced OER on Ni-RuO2. The successful assembly of a solar-driven alkaline electrolyzer provides more flexibility applications of (Ru-Ni)Ox electrocatalyst.

Synergistic Coupling of Nickel Boride with Ru Cluster as a Highly Active Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting and Glucose Electrolysis

AbstractThe development of highly active electrocatalysts is of great importance toward the practical applications of many meaningful electrocatalytic reactions. In this paper, the synthesis and electrocatalytic properties of a multifunctional ruthenium nickel boride hybrid electrocatalyst are reported for the first time. Compared to pristine nickel boride (Ni‐B) and Ru electrocatalysts, Ru@Ni‐B with trace Ru loading amount of 0.133 mg cm−2 prepared by a simple wet chemical method, shows remarkably improved activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction, the oxygen evolution reaction, and the glucose oxidation reaction. The electrolytic cell assembled with Ru@Ni‐B/nickel foam electrode as both cathode and anode can deliver 10 mA cm−2 at only 1.42 V for alkaline overall water splitting and 1.24 V for glucose electrolysis. It is further found that the synergistic coupling of ruthenium with nickel boride plays an important role in the superior performance of the hybrid electrocatalyst.

Nickel–Ruthenium Bimetallic Species on Hydrotalcite Support: A Potential Hydrogenation Catalyst

Nickel–Ruthenium Bimetallic Species on Hydrotalcite Support: A Potential Hydrogenation Catalyst

Layered-rocksalt intergrown cathode for high-capacity zero-strain battery operation

The dependence on lithium-ion batteries leads to a pressing demand for advanced cathode materials. We demonstrate a new concept of layered-rocksalt intergrown structure that harnesses the combined figures of merit from each phase, including high capacity of layered and rocksalt phases, good kinetics of layered oxide and structural advantage of rocksalt. Based on this concept, lithium nickel ruthenium oxide of a main layered structure (Rbar{3}m) with intergrown rocksalt (Fmbar{3}m) is developed, which delivers a high capacity with good rate performance. The interwoven rocksalt structure successfully prevents the anisotropic structural change that is typical for layered oxide, enabling a nearly zero-strain operation upon high-capacity cycling. Furthermore, a design principle is successfully extrapolated and experimentally verified in a series of compositions. Here, we show the success of such layered-rocksalt intergrown structure exemplifies a new battery electrode design concept and opens up a vast space of compositions to develop high-performance intergrown cathode materials.