RuP2-based Catalysts with Platinum-like Activity and Higher Durability for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at All pH Values (Angewandte Chemie International Edition)
Highly active, stable and cheap Pt-free catalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are under increasing demand for future energy conversion systems. However, developing pH-universal HER electrocatalysts with Pt-like activity that can function at all pH values still remains as a great challenge. Herein, based on our theoretical predictions, we first design and synthesize a novel N,P dual-doped carbon-encapsulated ruthenium diphosphide (RuP2@NPC) nanoparticle electrocatalyst for HER. Electrochemical tests reveal that, compared with the Pt/C catalyst, RuP2@NPC not only possesses Pt-like HER activity with small overpotentials at 10 mA cm-2 (38 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4, 57 mV in 1.0 M PBS and 52 mV in 1.0 M KOH), but demonstrates superior stability at all pH values, as well as 100 % Faradaic yields. Therefore, this work represents an important addition to the growing family of transition metal phosphides/heteroatom-doped carbon heterostructures with advanced performance in HER and beyond.