Boosting Energy Efficiency and Stability of Li–CO ₂ Batteries via Synergy between Ru Atom Clusters and Single‐Atom Ru–N ₄ sites in the Electrocatalyst Cathode

Co3 O4 , which is of mixed valences Co(2+) and Co(3+) , has been extensively investigated as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The proper control of Co(2+) /Co(3+) ratio in Co3 O4 could lead to modifications on its electronic and thus catalytic properties. Herein, we designed an efficient Co3 O4 -based OER electrocatalyst by a plasma-engraving strategy, which not only produced higher surface area, but also generated oxygen vacancies on Co3 O4 surface with more Co(2+) formed. The increased surface area ensures the Co3 O4 has more sites for OER, and generated oxygen vacancies on Co3 O4 surface improve the electronic conductivity and create more active defects for OER. Compared to pristine Co3 O4 , the engraved Co3 O4 exhibits a much higher current density and a lower onset potential. The specific activity of the plasma-engraved Co3 O4 nanosheets (0.055 mA cm(-2) BET at 1.6 V) is 10 times higher than that of pristine Co3 O4 , which is contributed by the surface oxygen vacancies.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a critical process due to its fundamental role in electrocatalysis. Practically, the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for HER in alkaline media is of great importance for the conversion of renewable energy to hydrogen fuel via photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, both mechanistic exploration and materials development for HER under alkaline conditions are very limited. Precious Pt metal, which still serves as the state-of-the-art catalyst for HER, is unable to guarantee a sustainable hydrogen supply. Here we report an anomalously structured Ru catalyst that shows 2.5 times higher hydrogen generation rate than Pt and is among the most active HER electrocatalysts yet reported in alkaline solutions. The identification of new face-centered cubic crystallographic structure of Ru nanoparticles was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging, and its formation mechanism was revealed by spectroscopic characterization and theoretical analysis. For the first time, it is found that the Ru nanocatalyst showed a pronounced effect of the crystal structure on the electrocatalytic activity tested under different conditions. The combination of electrochemical reaction rate measurements and density functional theory computation shows that the high activity of anomalous Ru catalyst in alkaline solution originates from its suitable adsorption energies to some key reaction intermediates and reaction kinetics in the HER process.