Volume 136, Issue 1 e202315340
Forschungsartikel

Multi-d Electron Synergy in LaNi1-xCoxRu Intermetallics Boosts Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Shijie Shen

Shijie Shen

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cutting Tools, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000 Zhejiang, China

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Huanhuan Zhang

Huanhuan Zhang

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cutting Tools, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000 Zhejiang, China

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Kai Song

Kai Song

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cutting Tools, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000 Zhejiang, China

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Zongpeng Wang

Zongpeng Wang

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cutting Tools, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000 Zhejiang, China

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Tongtong Shang

Tongtong Shang

Beijing National Center for Electron Microscopy and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China

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Ang Gao

Ang Gao

Beijing National Center for Electron Microscopy and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China

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Qinghua Zhang

Qinghua Zhang

Institution of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, No. 8, 3rd South Street, Zhongguancun, Haidian District, 100190 China

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Lin Gu

Lin Gu

Beijing National Center for Electron Microscopy and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China

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Wenwu Zhong

Corresponding Author

Wenwu Zhong

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cutting Tools, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000 Zhejiang, China

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First published: 20 November 2023
Citations: 15

Abstract

Despite the fact that d-band center theory links the d electron structure of transition metals to their catalytic activity, it is yet unknown how the synergistic effect of multi-d electrons impacts catalytic performance. Herein, novel LaNi1-xCoxRu intermetallics containing 5d, 4d, and 3d electrons were prepared. In these compounds, the 5d orbital of La transfers electrons to the 4d orbital of Ru, which provides adsorption sites for H*. The 3d orbitals of Ni and Co interact with the 5d and 4d orbitals to generate an anisotropic electron distribution, which facilitates the adsorption and desorption of OH*. The synergistic effect of multi-d electrons ensures efficient catalytic activity. The optimized LaNi0.5Co0.5Ru has an overpotential of 43mV at 10 mA cm−2 for alkaline electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. Beyond offering a variety of new electrocatalysts, this work reveals the multi-d electron synergy in promoting catalytic reaction.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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