Corrosion-induced surface reconstruction enhances RuO₂/NiFe(OH)_x for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

NiFe hydroxide has emerged as a highly promising electrocatalyst in water electrolysis, yet its application in catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains challenging. Herein, we report a corrosion-reconstruction strategy to fabricate RuO₂ nanocluster-endowed NiFe hydroxide [RuO₂/NiFe(OH)_x] as an efficient electrocatalyst for HER application. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide insight into the HER mechanism, revealing that the reconstructed surface enriched with RuO₂ nanoclusters optimally adsorbs water molecules. This modification also induces a shift of the *H adsorption site from oxygen atoms to ruthenium atoms due to electron transfer effects, facilitating the desorption of *H and promoting efficient H₂ formation. The synthesized RuO₂/NiFe(OH)_xcatalyst delivers prominent HER activity (149 mV at 100 mA cm^-2) and robust operational stability in a water-splitting device, sustaining 200 mA cm^-2 for 100 h with almost no obvious voltage increment. Importantly, the fabrication of a large-area electrode demonstrates that this simple, room-temperature corrosion-reconstruction strategy is a promising and viable route for the application of HER electrocatalysts.

Keywords

Hydrogen evolution reaction / water splitting / NiFe hydroxides / surface reconstruction / corrosion strategy

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