J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 263: 189-199.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.11.007

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Electronic and active sites reconstruction endowed by atomic ruthenium-modulated V2P-MoP heterointerfaces-hybridized N-doped carbon for enhanced water splitting

Tran Thien An Nguyena, Nguyen Tram Anh Duonga, Saleem Sidrab, Do Hwan Kimb, Nam Hoon Kima, Duy Thanh Trana,c,*, Joong Hee Leea,d,*   

  1. aDepartment of Nano Convergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, , Republic of Korea;
    bDivision of Science Education, Department of Energy Storage/Conversion Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea;
    cDepartment of JBNU-KIST Industry-Academia Convergence Research, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea;
    dCarbon Composite Research Center, Department of Polymer and Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
  • Received:2025-09-18 Revised:2025-11-04 Accepted:2025-11-09 Online:2026-08-19
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: dttran@jbnu.ac.kr (D.T. Tran), jhl@jbnu.ac.kr (J.H. Lee).

Abstract: For clean hydrogen energy production, the pursuit of highly active and stable electrocatalysts for efficient overall water splitting (OWS) is noteworthy. This study presents a rational design approach for a spherical flower-like electrocatalyst configuration derived from atomic ruthenium-doped binary metallic phosphide heterointerfaces hybridizing with a nitrogen-doped carbon layer (Ru-V2P-MoP/N-C), which induces surface charge redistribution and energetic restructuring to expose enriched multiple active sites, thereby impressively promoting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium. In consequence, the Ru-V2P-MoP/N-C exhibits a low overpotential of 63 mV for HER and 245 mV for OER to reach 10 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH. The two-electrode Ru-V2P-MoP/N-C(+,-) cell requires a voltage of 1.45 and 1.55 V at 75 and 25 °C, respectively, at 10 mA cm-2 for OWS in 1.0 M KOH medium. Furthermore, the prototype anion-exchange membrane electrolyzer exhibits a high current density of 0.5/1.0 A cm-2 at a stack voltage of 1.77/1.88 V, and remarkable stability in simulated industrial conditions. This study offers a valuable design guideline of a high-efficiency electrocatalyst for OWS through the atomic-level manipulation of heterointerfaces and doping effects, thereby presenting a promising strategy for efficient and clean hydrogen production technology.

Key words: Atomic ruthenium doping, Phosphide heterointerfaces, Bifunctional electrocatalyst, Water splitting, Green hydrogen