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Abstract Engineering bifunctional nanocomposites with pronounced interfacial structure represents an effective design strategy for water‐splitting catalysts. Herein, a facile reduction‐hydrolysis method is described for the fabrication of Ru−RuO 2 hybrid nanocomposites on various substrates Ni foam (NF), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene oxide (GO) as overall water‐splitting catalysts. Polydopamine (PDA) is the key element for simultaneously fabricating the Ru−RuO 2 hybrids as a moderate reductant by controlling the reduction rate. In the synthesis process, a gradual reduction of Ru 3+ to Ru 0 in the presence of PDA occurred during the hydrolytic process of Ru 3+ to form RuO 2 ⋅ n (H 2 O). After calcination, Ru−RuO 2 hybrids with tight interfacial contacts and high electrical conductivity exhibited excellent performance for both HER and OER. Especially, Ru−RuO 2 hybrids on the NF (Ru−RuO 2 /NC/NF) achieved outstanding catalytic activity toward HER and OER with overpotential of 24 mV and 223 mV at a current density 10 mA cm −2 in alkaline solution, respectively. This work provides a new method for facile synthesis and engineering of Ru−RuO 2 nanoparticles on various substrates for boosting the HER/OER performance.
Hu et al. (2022) studied this question.