Enhanced interaction between Ru nanoparticles and N, C-modified mesoporous TiO2 for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution at all pH values

Abstract

Tailoring the interaction between metal nanoparticles and the support is of great significance in the development of efficient and economical non-platinum catalysts for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, we report ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on N, C modified mesoporous TiO₂ (N-TiO₂/C) composites with enhanced interfacial interaction for the electrocatalytic HER. The N, C modified TiO₂ can make Ru easier to be oxidized compared to non-modified TiO₂. Consequently, the interaction can be tailored through the electron transfer from Ru to N, C modified mesoporous TiO₂. The obtained Ru@N-TiO₂/C catalysts exhibit excellent HER performance over a wide pH range, especially in 1 M KOH with a low overpotential of 39 mV @ 10 mA cm⁻² and Tafel slope of 47 mV dec⁻¹ even surpassing that of Pt/C. Meanwhile, the Ru@N-TiO₂/C catalysts also possess low overpotentials of only 82 mV and 116 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M PBS and 0.5 M H₂SO₄, which are comparable to that of Pt/C. This work provides a new perspective for tailoring the interaction between the metal and support for enhancing electro-catalytic properties.