Interface-Enhanced SiOx/Ru Heterocatalysts for Efficient Electrochemical Water Splitting

Developing a bifunctional electrocatalyst with remarkable performance viable for overall water splitting is increasingly essential for industrial-scale renewable energy conversion. However, the current electrocatalyst still requires a large cell voltage to drive water splitting due to the unsuitable adsorption/desorption capacity of reaction intermediates, which seriously hinders the practical application of water splitting. Herein, a unique SiOx/Ru nanosheet (NS) material was proposed as a high-performance electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. The SiOx/Ru NSs show superior performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction with a low overpotential of 23 mV (@ 10 mA cm–2) and excellent stability for nearly 200 h (@ 10 mA cm–2) in 1 M KOH. By means of the introduction of SiOx, it is beneficial for balancing the local charge density of the surrounding Ru sites. The suitable electronic coupling between the d-band electrons of Ru and the adsorbed species effectively balances the adsorption and desorption of reaction intermediates on the surface. As a result, the catalyst also exhibits overall water splitting activity with a cell voltage of only 1.496 V to reach the current density of 10 mA cm–2. The present work opens up a new strategy for designing high-performance electrocatalysts for water splitting.