Edge-selective decoration with ruthenium at graphitic nanoplatelets for efficient hydrogen production at universal pH

Abstract Although the electrochemical reaction is an effective and great promise to produce hydrogen, the realization of efficient and stable catalysts is still a significant challenge in the various electrochemical systems, such as water splitting and metal-CO2 batteries. Herein, we report Ru nanoparticles anchored at edge-selectively nitrogenated graphitic nanoplatelets (Ru-ENG) instead of on the basal plane in two-dimensional (2D) graphitic substrate. The Ru nanoparticles interacted with both of armchair-ENG and zigzag-ENG substrate lead to favorable hydrogen evolution activities of icosahedron cluster Ru13 in Ru-ENG at a universal pH, compared to Ru metal cluster. The spontaneous electron re-construction between edge-site of N and ruthenium particles in Ru-ENG catalyst is attributed to the faster reaction kinetics with lower Tafel slopes and higher turnover frequencies than the benchmark Pt/C catalyst in any pH conditions. More importantly, the Ru-ENG electrocatalyst exhibited superior long-term consecutive stability (over 1,500 h) at a high current density of 100 mA cm−2 in the practical water-splitting system.