In-situ growth of ruthenium-based nanostructure on carbon cloth for superior electrocatalytic activity towards HER and OER

The control in synthesis and composition plays a vital role in exploring cost-effective efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting. This paper reported a glycerol-assisted solvothermal strategy to synthesize Ru-based electrocatalyst (Ru-G/CC), in-situ growing Ru nanoparticles (NPs) on carbon cloth (CC). The optimal Ru-G/CC exhibits a boosted HER activity (overpotential of 40 mV @ 10 mA cm−2, Tafel slope 76 mV dec−1), surpassing benchmark 20 wt% Pt/C; experimental characterization and DFT calculations verified that Ru NPs with a mixed amorphous/crystalline structure in Ru-G/CC effectively decrease the reaction energy barrier in HER. Also, the hydrothermally derived Ru-H2O/CC-350 exhibited a high electrocatalytic OER activity (overpotential of 270 mV @ 10 mA cm−2, Tafel slope 63 mV dec−1), exceeding the commercial RuO2. This work provides a successful story via regulating synthetic parameters to design efficient and stable Ru-based electrocatalysts for water splitting.