Constructing Ru-Ni-Cu nanoframes via subtle selective etching for low over-potential hydrogen evolution

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2026.01.034

Abstract

Abstract: With comparable hydrogen bond strength to Pt and higher natural abundance, Ru is regarded as the most promising alternative to the Pt-based electrocatalyst in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, further optimized Ru alloy catalyst design remains necessary to enhance the atom utilization as well as practical simplicity. This study successfully employed Cu as a sacrificial template to synthesize Ru-Ni-Cu alloy nanoframes (NFs). In alkaline media, the prepared Ru-Ni-Cu NFs exhibit outstanding catalytic activity, driving HER current densities up to 10 mA cm^-2 with an overpotential as low as 15 mV. This remarkable HER performance mainly originates from the effective modulation of the electronic structure by the alloy framework and the increased number of accessible active sites afforded by the open NF architecture. Moreover, the alloy NFs feature an elegantly simple design with inspiring implications for the design principle of high noble metal utilization efficiency. Importantly, this alloy-etching strategy offers a simple yet effective approach for constructing high-performance Ru-based catalysts, providing insightful guidance for the rational design and development of noble metal electrocatalysts.

Key words: Ru electrocatalysts, Hydrogen evolution reaction, Nanoframes, Electronic structure modulation

Jing-Ru Xu, Shi-Yu Zhu, Kang Chen, Yong-Qi Chen, Ling-Rui Wang, Meng Li, Haizhong Guo, Han Gao. Constructing Ru-Ni-Cu nanoframes via subtle selective etching for low over-potential hydrogen evolution[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 270: 156-162.

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