Modulating the covalency of Ru-O bonds by dynamic reconstruction for efficient acidic oxygen evolution

Developing ruthenium-based oxide catalysts capable of suppressing lattice oxygen participation in the catalytic reaction process is crucial for maintaining stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under acidic conditions. Herein, we delicately construct a RuO2 nanoparticle-anchored LiCoO2 nanosheet electrocatalyst (RuO2/LiCoO2), achieving dynamic optimization of RuO2 during the reaction process and improving catalytic stability. Benefiting from the unique electrochemical delithiation characteristics of the LiCoO2 support, the covalency of the Ru-O bond is effectively regulated during the OER process. The weakened Ru-O covalent bond inhibits the participation of lattice oxygen in the catalytic reaction and ensures the continuous operation of the Ru active sites. Moreover, the extended Ru-O bond in the optimized RuO2/LiCoO2 catalyst reduces the formation energy barrier of the *OOH intermediates, accelerating the progress of the OER. As a result, the RuO2/LiCoO2 catalyst requires only an overpotential of 150 ± 2 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H2SO4 and operates stably for 2000 h at 1 A cm−2 in a proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. This work opens new avenues for designing efficient ruthenium-based catalysts. Long-term stability is a key challenge for ruthenium-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. Here, the authors present a RuO2/LiCoO2 catalyst with dynamic Li dissolution, which weakens the covalency of the Ru-O bond to prevent the lattice oxygen mechanism, thereby ensuring stable acidic OER.