NiO as a bifunctional promoter for RuO₂ toward superior overall water splitting

Abstract

Conventional development of nanomaterials for efficient electrocatalysis is largely based on performance-oriented trial-and-error/iterative approaches, while a rational design approach at the atomic/molecular level is yet to be found. Here, inspired by a fundamental understanding of the mechanism for both oxygen and hydrogen evolution half reactions (OER/HER), a unique strategy is presented to engineer RuO₂ for superior alkaline water electrolysis through coupling with NiO as an efficient bifunctional promoter. Benefitting from desired potential-induced interfacial synergies, NiO-derived NiOOH improves the oxygen binding energy of RuO₂ for enhanced OER, and NiO also promotes water dissociation for enhanced HER on RuO₂ -derived Ru. The resulting hybrid material exhibits remarkable bifunctional activities, affording 2.6 times higher OER activity than that of RuO₂ and an HER activity comparable to Pt/C. As a result, the simple system requires only 1.5 V to deliver 10 mA cm⁻² for overall alkaline water splitting, outperforming the benchmark PtC/NF||IrO₂ /NF couple with high mass loading. Comprehensive electrochemical investigation reveals the unique and critical role of NiO on the optimized RuO₂ /NiO interface for synergistically enhanced activities, which may be extended to broader (electro)catalytic systems.