C60 Fullerenol to Stabilize and Activate Ru Nanoparticles for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

Ruthenium (Ru)-based catalysts exhibited great potentialfor thealkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. However, the strong adsorptionof H on the Ru surface and the undesirable agglomeration of Ru areobstacles to further boosting their hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)performance. Herein, we develop C-60 fullerenol C-60(OH)(24) to stabilize, disperse, and activate Ru nanoparticlesthrough Ru-O-C-60 connections. Despite theultrahigh Ru content (38.6 wt %), Ru nanoparticles are densely anduniformly dispersed on the C-60 substrate due to the anchoringand confinement effects of C-60 fullerenols. Moreover, theelectron-withdrawing properties of C-60 induce the electronsto flow from Ru to C-60 through the Ru-O-C-60 interface, which enhances the electronic metal-supportinteraction, thereby optimizing the adsorption behavior of differentintermediates. The synthesized Ru-OC60-300 has aremarkably small overpotential (4.6 mV at 10 mA cm(-2)) and Tafel slope (24.7 mV dec(-1)), showing highactivity and stability toward alkaline HER. Density functional theorysimulations reveal that the Ru-O-C-60 interfaceengineering weakens the Ru-H affinity, promotes water dissociation,and accelerates the hydrogen evolution kinetics.