Atomic ruthenium coordinated with chlorine and nitrogen as efficient and multifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting and rechargeable zinc-air battery

• A novel ruthenium single atom electrocatalyst coordinated with Cl and N (Ru–Cl–N SAC) was synthesized. • The Ru–Cl–N SAC exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic performance for HER , OER and ORR . • The introduction of Cl atom account for the improved trifunctional catalytic activity of Ru–Cl–N SAC. • A overall water splitting cell and a rechargeable Zn-air battery was fabricated using Ru–Cl–N SAC. Design and fabrication of multifunctional efficient and durable single-atom electrocatalyst is highly desirable and challenging for overall water splitting and zinc-air battery. Herein, a novel and efficient ruthenium coordinated with Cl and N single atom catalyst (Ru–Cl–N SAC) is synthesized. Electrochemical measurements disclose that the Ru–Cl–N SAC exhibits superior electrocatalytic activities toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with long-term durability in alkaline medium. Furthermore, the overall water splitting cell requiring only 1.49 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm −2 and a rechargeable zinc-air battery with a specific capacity of 804.26 mAh g −1 and long-term durability for 360 h are fabricated based on the Ru–Cl–N SAC. The present work will pave the way for design and fabrication of novel and efficient multifunctional electrocatalysts in the realm of energy conversion and storage.