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Benchmarking Three Ruthenium Phosphide Phases for Electrocatalysis of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Experimental and Theoretical Insights |
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| Authors: | Tingting Liu Jianmei Wang Changyin Zhong Shiyu Lu Prof Wenrong Yang Prof Jian Liu Prof Weihua Hu Prof Chang Ming Li |
| Institution: | 1. Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, School of Materials & Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715 P.R. China
Chongqing Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Technologies of Clean Energies, Chongqing, 400715 P.R. China School of Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada These authors contributed equally to this work.;2. Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3216 Australia These authors contributed equally to this work.;3. Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, School of Materials & Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715 P.R. China Chongqing Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Technologies of Clean Energies, Chongqing, 400715 P.R. China;4. Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3216 Australia;5. School of Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada;6. Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, School of Materials & Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715 P.R. China |
| Abstract: | The outstanding electrocatalytic activity of ruthenium (Ru) phosphides toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has received wide attention. However, the effect of the Ru phosphide phase on the HER performance remains unclear. Herein, a two-step method was developed to synthesize nanoparticles of three types of Ru phosphides, namely, Ru2P, RuP, and RuP2, with similar morphology, dimensions, loading density, and electrochemical surface area on graphene nanosheets by simply controlling the dosage of phytic acid as P source. Electrochemical tests revealed that Ru2P/graphene shows the highest intrinsic HER activity, followed by RuP/graphene and RuP2/graphene. Ru2P/graphene affords a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 18 mV in acid media. Theoretical calculations further showed that P-deficient Ru2P has a lower free energy of hydrogen adsorption on the surface than other two, P-rich Ru phosphides (RuP, RuP2), which confirms the excellent intrinsic HER activity of Ru2P and is consistent with experiment results. The work reveals for the first time a clear trend of HER activity among three Ru phosphide phases. |
| Keywords: | electrochemistry hydrogen evolution reaction nanoparticles phosphides ruthenium |