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Title: Design of Ru-Ni diatomic sites for efficient alkaline hydrogen oxidation

Journal Article · · Science Advances
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7];  [5]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  2. McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada)
  3. Tianjin Univ. of Technology, Tianjin (China)
  4. City Univ. of New York (CUNY), Queens, NY (United States)
  5. Tamkang Univ., New Taipei City (Taiwan)
  6. National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu (Taiwan)
  7. Guangxi Univ., Nanning (China)
  8. Beijing University of Chemical Technology (China)

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells are limited by the slow kinetics of alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Here, we establish HOR catalytic activities of single-atom and diatomic sites as a function of *H and *OH binding energies to screen the optimal active sites for the HOR. As a result, the Ru-Ni diatomic one is identified as the best active center. Guided by the theoretical finding, we subsequently synthesize a catalyst with Ru-Ni diatomic sites supported on N-doped porous carbon, which exhibits excellent catalytic activity, CO tolerance, and stability for alkaline HOR and is also superior to single-site counterparts. In situ scanning electrochemical microscopy study validates the HOR activity resulting from the Ru-Ni diatomic sites. Furthermore, in situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy and computational studies unveil a synergistic interaction between Ru and Ni to promote the molecular H2 dissociation and strengthen OH adsorption at the diatomic sites, and thus enhance the kinetics of HOR.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1982944
Journal Information:
Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 8; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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