Palladium-ruthenium binary alloy nanosheets as catalyst for electrochemical water splitting

Large surface area of electrocatalyst plays significant role in achieving high performance of water splitting. In this work, palladium-ruthenium (PdRu) binary alloys have been prepared via liquid phase deposition technique at low temperature. PdRu alloy with two dimensional nanosheets has been prepared at the growth temperature of 42 degrees C. The alloy is crystalline with the existence of minor phase of PdRu. The EDS mapping verifies the presence of Pd and Ru element in the alloy. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the formation of PdRu. The sample tested in acidic solution yielded the highest current density and the lowest tafel slope value due to the lowest of charge transfer resistance with the value of 6 ohm. According to LSV measurement, the highest current density of 11.76 mA was yielded at the applied potential of 161 mV. The reduction current increases with the scanning rate with the highest reduction current of 1.8 mA cm-2 was obtained at the scanning rate of 10 mV/s. The electrocatalytic results of this work signify that PdRu nanosheets have potential to be utilized as efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting.