Integrated interfacial regulation enables stable ampere-level alkaline hydrogen evolution

Cu 2 O@RuSe 2 nanowire arrays enable ampere-level alkaline HER via multiscale catalyst design. • RuSe 2 weakens OH* adsorption and reconstructs interfacial water, accelerating alkaline HER kinetics. • Optimized bubble detachment and reduced bubble size enhance gas–liquid–solid mass transfer at high currents. Efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution at industrially relevant current densities is limited by sluggish reaction kinetics and inefficient interfacial mass transfer. Here we report a Cu 2 O@RuSe 2 nanowire architecture that couples active-site electronic modulation with electrode-level bubble management. The catalyst delivers an overpotential of 0.26 V at 500 mA cm −2 and retains 96.3% of its initial current density during continuous electrolysis at 1 A cm −2 for more than 260 h. Density functional theory calculations show that RuSe 2 modification weakens OH* adsorption while preserving favorable H* binding, thereby alleviating Volmer-step limitations under alkaline conditions. In situ Raman spectroscopy further reveals a more ordered interfacial water structure on Cu 2 O@RuSe 2 NWs, which promotes water activation. At the electrode scale, Cu 2 O@RuSe 2 enables faster bubble detachment and a narrower bubble-size distribution, improving gas-liquid-solid mass transfer. These results demonstrate that integrating electronic regulation of catalytic sites with bubble-management engineering is an effective strategy for achieving efficient and stable alkaline hydrogen evolution at industrially relevant current densities. Efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution at industrial current densities is limited by sluggish interfacial kinetics and inefficient bubble release. Herein, we construct a Cu 2 O@RuSe 2 nanowire-array electrode that synergistically integrates electronic modulation with bubble management. The introduction of RuSe 2 optimizes the adsorption energy of key *OH intermediates, accelerates interfacial water dissociation, and suppresses OH poisoning, thereby enhancing HER kinetics. Simultaneously, the nanowire architecture promotes rapid bubble detachment and efficient gas–liquid–solid mass transfer under high-current operation. As a result, the catalyst delivers a low overpotential of 0.26 V at 500 mA cm −2 and maintains stable electrolysis at 1 A cm −2 for over 260 h with 96.3% current retention. Download: Download high-res image (335KB) Download: Download full-size image