炭黑负载钌镍原子簇用于强化酸性体系下析氢反应电催化性能

Ruthenium-Nickel Atomic Cluster Supported on Carbon Black for Improving Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysis Performance in Acidic Solution

摘要:

研发高性能、低成本析氢反应（HER）催化剂是推动氢能规模化开发与实际应用的关键瓶颈突破方向。当前的研究难点在于如何使用廉价金属替代铂（Pt）以在保障HER催化性能的同时降低催化剂成本。采用简单可控的喷雾干燥-热分解还原法，在氢气中还原温度为300 ℃，制备出炭黑负载钌镍原子簇催化剂（RuNi-ac/C）。表征结果显示，所制备的钌镍原子簇在炭黑载体表面实现均匀分散，粒径分布集中于0.5~2.5 nm。电化学测试表明，该催化剂在0.5 mol/L硫酸电解液中，电流密度在10 mA·cm^?2时的HER过电位仅为37 mV；稳定性测试中，经过4000圈循环伏安扫描后，过电位增幅仅为2 mV，展现出优异的电化学稳定性。相较于同步制备的Ru/C（300 ℃）、Ni/C（400 ℃）催化剂，以及在200、400、500 ℃条件下合成的RuNi/C催化剂，RuNi-ac/C的HER催化活性最优。更为重要的是，与商用Pt/C催化剂相比，RuNi-ac/C不仅具备更出色的HER活性，同时拥有显著的成本优势，为低成本高效HER催化剂的产业化应用提供了新思路。

Abstract:

Research on high-performance and low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is of great significance for the large-scale development and practical application of hydrogen energy. Using cheaper metals instead of platinum (Pt) to reduce catalyst costs while ensuring HER performance is a current challenge. In this work, we used a facile and controllable method, the spray-drying technique combined with thermal decomposition reduction, to synthesize the catalyst of ruthenium-nickel atomic cluster supported on carbon black (RuNi-ac/C) at a reduction temperature of 300 ℃ in H₂. The results show that as-synthesized RuNi atomic clusters are uniformly distributed on the carbon black, with the particle size distribution ranging from 0.5 nm to 2.5 nm. Electrochemical tests indicate that the HER overpotential of RuNi-ac/C is only 37 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm^-2 in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄ electrolyte. The overpotential is increased by only 2 mV after 4000 cyclic voltammetry cycles in the stability test, demonstrating excellent electrochemical stability. Compared with synthesized Ru/C-300 ℃, Ni/C-400 ℃, and RuNi/C (200, 400, and 500 ℃) catalysts, the RuNi-ac/C has the best HER performance. Furthermore, the RuNi-ac/C has better HRE activity as well as lower cost compared with the commercial Johnson Matthey Pt/C catalyst, providing a new idea for the industrial application of low-cost and high-efficiency HER catalysts.