Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation
Abstract Developing efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts under acidic conditions is crucial for advancing proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers commercialization. Here, we develop a representative strategy through p-orbital atoms (N, P, S, Se) doping in RuO2 to prec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60083-y |
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| author | Xing Wang Wei Pi Zhaobing Li Sheng Hu Haifeng Bao Weilin Xu Na Yao |
| author_facet | Xing Wang Wei Pi Zhaobing Li Sheng Hu Haifeng Bao Weilin Xu Na Yao |
| author_sort | Xing Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Developing efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts under acidic conditions is crucial for advancing proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers commercialization. Here, we develop a representative strategy through p-orbital atoms (N, P, S, Se) doping in RuO2 to precisely regulate the lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism-oxygen vacancy site mechanism pathway. In situ and ex situ measurements along with theoretical calculations demonstrate that Se doping dynamically adjusts the band gap between the Ru-e g and O-p orbitals during the oxygen evolution reaction process. This modulation accelerates electron diffusion to the external circuit, promotes the lattice oxygen-mediated process, and enhances catalytic activity. Additionally, it facilitates electron feedback and stabilizes oxygen vacancies, thereby promoting the oxygen vacancy site mechanism process and enhancing catalytic stability. The resulting Se-RuOx catalyst achieves efficient proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers performance under industrial conditions with a minimal charge overpotential of 1.67 V to achieve a current density of 1 A cm−2 and maintain long-term cyclability for over 1000 h. This work presents a unique method for guiding the future development of high-performance metal oxide catalysts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-488132b3e1014e14a84c13332cedcf8d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-488132b3e1014e14a84c13332cedcf8d2025-08-20T03:08:43ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-60083-yOrbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidationXing Wang0Wei Pi1Zhaobing Li2Sheng Hu3Haifeng Bao4Weilin Xu5Na Yao6State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile UniversityAbstract Developing efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts under acidic conditions is crucial for advancing proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers commercialization. Here, we develop a representative strategy through p-orbital atoms (N, P, S, Se) doping in RuO2 to precisely regulate the lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism-oxygen vacancy site mechanism pathway. In situ and ex situ measurements along with theoretical calculations demonstrate that Se doping dynamically adjusts the band gap between the Ru-e g and O-p orbitals during the oxygen evolution reaction process. This modulation accelerates electron diffusion to the external circuit, promotes the lattice oxygen-mediated process, and enhances catalytic activity. Additionally, it facilitates electron feedback and stabilizes oxygen vacancies, thereby promoting the oxygen vacancy site mechanism process and enhancing catalytic stability. The resulting Se-RuOx catalyst achieves efficient proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers performance under industrial conditions with a minimal charge overpotential of 1.67 V to achieve a current density of 1 A cm−2 and maintain long-term cyclability for over 1000 h. This work presents a unique method for guiding the future development of high-performance metal oxide catalysts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60083-y |
| spellingShingle | Xing Wang Wei Pi Zhaobing Li Sheng Hu Haifeng Bao Weilin Xu Na Yao Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation Nature Communications |
| title | Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| title_full | Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| title_fullStr | Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| title_short | Orbital-level band gap engineering of RuO2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| title_sort | orbital level band gap engineering of ruo2 for enhanced acidic water oxidation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60083-y |
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