Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 647-653.doi: 10.1007/s40242-023-3084-3

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pH-Induced Size Regulation of Ru Nanocrystals and the Applications Towards Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

LI Miao1, HAO Yashi1, YANG Zuobo1, YUN Jimmy2,3, LIANG Xin1   

  1. 1. School of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P.R. China;
    2. Qingdao Chuangqi Xinneng Catalytic Technology Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266100, P.R. China;
    3. School of Chemical Engineering, the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW2052, Australia
  • Received:2023-04-01 Online:2023-08-01 Published:2023-07-18
  • Contact: LIANG Xin E-mail:liangxin@mail.buct.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No.2018YFA0702000).

Abstract: Ruthenium(Ru) and its derivatives have been widely studied as oxygen evolution reaction(OER) electrocatalysts in acidic water electrolysis due to their inherent electronic properties and high oxygen evolution activity. A facile pH-induced size regulation approach for Ru nanocrystals has been developed by introducing NaOH and CH3COOH in a polyol system. The size of Ru particles decreases with the increase of the dosage of NaOH and increases at a certain dosage of CH3COOH. The formation mechanism of ruthenium nanocrystals was investigated through a series of characterizations and kinetic experiments. The electrocatalytic activities of the electrocatalysts derived from these Ru particles were studied toward OER to investigate the influence of particle size on their electrocatalytic properties. Moreover, the prepared electrocatalysts were applied as anodic materials in the proton exchange membrane(PEM) electrolysis cell and demonstrated excellent performance.

Key words: pH, Ruthenium nanoparticle size, Electrolysis, Oxygen evolution reaction