Rapid synthesis of ultrafine Ru nanoparticles loaded on N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres via a microwave method for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution applications

The production and utilization of hydrogen energy are important for achieving green and sustainable development and are among the most crucial strategies for realizing the efficient use of renewable energy. Electrolysis of water is a promising way to obtain clean hydrogen energy. Ru-loaded carbon materials have a wide application prospect in the field of water electrolysis because of their high catalytic activity, good stability, and relatively low cost. In this study, we realized the in situ anchoring of ultrafine Ru nanoparticles on N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NHMCS) within 15 min via microwave solvothermal pyrolysis of metal carbonyl compounds. We obtained Ru/NHMCS-15–5 catalysts with excellent alkaline hydrogen evolution properties. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) testing in the range of hydrogen desorption potential and electrochemical in-situ Raman spectroscopy indicated that the high electrocatalytic hydrogen reaction activity of Ru/NHMCS-15–5 may stem from its strong H 2 O adsorption capacity and moderate H adsorption strength. Density function theory (DFT) calculation results indicated that the electronic synergetic effect between Ru clusters and NHMCS enable to regulate the charge distribution of Ru/NHMCS and reduce the Gibbs free energy of formation of intermediate species for water dissociation process, thereby accelerating the electrocatalytic kinetics of HER.