Corrosion-induced surface reconstruction enhances RuO2/NiFe(OH)x for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

NiFe hydroxide has emerged as a highly promising electrocatalyst in water electrolysis, yet its application in catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains challenging. Herein, we report a corrosion-reconstruction strategy to fabricate RuO2 nanocluster-endowed NiFe hydroxide [RuO2/NiFe(OH)x] as an efficient electrocatalyst for HER application. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide insight into the HER mechanism, revealing that the reconstructed surface enriched with RuO2 nanoclusters optimally adsorbs water molecules. This modification also induces a shift of the *H adsorption site from oxygen atoms to ruthenium atoms due to electron transfer effects, facilitating the desorption of *H and promoting efficient H2 formation. The synthesized RuO2/NiFe(OH)x catalyst delivers prominent HER activity (149 mV at 100 mA cm-2) and robust operational stability in a water-splitting device, sustaining 200 mA cm-2 for 100 h with almost no obvious voltage increment. Importantly, the fabrication of a large-area electrode demonstrates that this simple, room-temperature corrosion-reconstruction strategy is a promising and viable route for the application of HER electrocatalysts.