Fabrication of Ru-doped CuMnBP micro cluster electrocatalyst with high efficiency and stability for electrochemical water splitting application at the industrial-level current density

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science 2025-01, Vol.677 (Pt A), p.587-598
• Main Authors: Lin, Shusen, Mandavkar, Rutuja, Habib, Md Ahasan, Dristy, Sumiya Akter, Joni, Mehedi Hasan, Jeong, Jae-Hun, Lee, Jihoon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: active sites; CuMnPB; electric potential difference; Electrocatalyst water splitting; electrochemistry; foams; hydrogen; hydrogen production; Hydrothermal reaction; oxygen production; Ru doping; surface area
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.08.009

A novel dual-function Ru/CuMnBP micro particle electrocatalyst is successfully fabricated via hydrothermal reaction and Ru soaking approaches for overall water splitting application, which exhibits a low cell voltage of 3.13 V at an industrial level current density of 2000 mA/cm2 in 1M KOH. The designed hybrid Pt/C|| Ru/CuMnBP shows higher catalytic behavior, requiring a lower bias of 2.64 V to maintain the current density of 2000 mA/cm2. [Display omitted] Electrochemical water splitting has been considered as a key pathway to generate environmentally friendly green hydrogen energy and it is essential to design highly efficient electrocatalysts at affordable cost to facilitate the redox reactions of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, a novel micro-clustered Ru/CuMnBP electrocatalyst is introduced, prepared via hydrothermal deposition and soaking-assisted Ru doping approaches on Ni foam substrate. Ru/CuMnBP micro-clusters exhibit relatively low HER/OER turnover overpotentials of 11 mV and 85 mV at 10 mA/cm2 in 1 M KOH. It also demonstrates a low 2-E turnover cell voltage of 1.53 V at 10 mA/cm2 for the overall water-splitting, which is comparable with the benchmark electrodes of Pt/C||RuO2. At a super high-current density of 2000 mA/cm2, the dual functional Ru/CuMnBP demonstrates an exceptionally low 2-E cell voltage of 3.13 V and also exhibits superior stability for over 10 h in 1 M KOH. Excellent electrochemical performances originate from the large electrochemical active surface area with the micro cluster morphology, high intrinsic activity of CuMnBP micro-clusters optimized through component ratio adjustment and the beneficial Ru doping effect, which enhances active site density, conductivity and stability. The usage of Ru in small quantities via the simple soaking doping approach significantly improves electrochemical reaction rates for both HER and OER, making Ru/CuMnBP micro-clusters promising candidates for advanced electrocatalytic applications.