Ru-M (Fe, Co, Ni) onto Nitrogen-doped Two-dimensional Carbon Nanosheets through Microwave Approach with Strong Metal-support Interactions for overall Water-splitting

Developing Ru-based catalysts with strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) is a significant approach to achieve highly-efficient catalytic activity and satisfactory stability. Nevertheless, the current strategies to construct SMSI are generally time-consuming and tedious, and then leading to aggregation. In this research, ultrafast microwave (45 s) is employed to affix small Ru-M (Fe, Co, Ni) nanoparticles onto nitrogen-doped two-dimensional (2D) carbon nanosheets (NCN, Ru-M/NCN), leading to robust metal-support interactions that enhance reaction kinetics and boost stability. Furthermore, the electronic interplay between Ru and M is pivotal in augmenting catalytic efficacy. The small size of the Ru-M nanoparticles and high specific surface area also favor exposing active sites and abundant interconnected channels to accelerate mass transport. Subsequent low-temperature oxidation process, to prepare RuM@RuOx/NCN, which is conducted to achieve oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. Thus, the as-synthesized RuCo/NCN only requires 65 mV, 58 mV, and 98 mV to achieve 10 mA cm(-2) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 0.5 M H2SO4, 1 M KOH and alkaline seawater. RuM@RuOx/NCN is obtained by low-temperature oxidation to achieve excellent oxygen reduction reaction performance in 1 M KOH, the low overpotential of only 273 mV, 256 mV and 284 mV can reach 10 mA cm(-2) and satisfactory stability. Moreover, the prepared electrocatalysts also achieve satisfactory electrocatalytic activity for overall water-splitting in alkaline freshwater/seawater electrolytes. This work provides a superior pathway for multi-functional nanomaterials for sustainable energy storage and conversion.