Multi-interface anchoring enables atomic-level dispersion of Ru for efficient water oxidation

Although noble metal-based catalysts are expensive, they are still the most promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the load of the precious metal without affecting the OER performance of the catalyst. In this work, we have innovatively proposed a strategy of interfacial anchoring of Ru atoms and successfully achieve the dispersion of precious metal ruthenium atoms in cross-growing NiS and NiSe multifaceted structures. The dispersion of Ru ensures Ru-NiS/NiSe/NF more active sites and more adequate contact with the electrolyte, which further improves the oxygen production property of the catalyst. As a direct outcome, the target catalyst (Ru-NiS/NiSe/NF) only requires low overpotential of 453 mV to excite a current density of 1000 mA cm-2. Meanwhile, it can remain stable to catalyze the OER for more than 50 h (200 mA cm-2), which gives it great application potential in future large-scale electrolytic water processes. This work provides a new perspective for the efficient utilization of precious metal for designing the efficient and stable OER electrocatalyst.