Ru decorated Co nanoparticles supported by N-doped carbon sheet implements Pt-like hydrogen evolution performance in wide pH range

Development of high-performance pH-universal electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a vital step towards economy but remains major challenge. Herein, the Ru decorated Co nanoparticles supported by N-doped carbon sheets (Ru/[email protected]) are prepared galvanic exchange and display remarkable performance HER. In 1.0 M KOH, 0.01 PBS 0.5 H2SO4, respectively, Ru/[email protected] shows low overpotentials 10, 283 50 mV at current density 10 mA cm?2, comparable to benchmark Pt/C (23, 289 37 mV). Furthermore, deep experimental researches DFT calculations indicate that Ru-Co heterostructure more suitable energy H2O* dissociation H* adsorption compared Co, which can significantly improve HER activity. Besides excellent activity, in wide pH range, also exhibits good stability with negligible loss after long-time test (30 h). This work may provide ponderable strategies developing an efficient electrocatalyst.