Advanced Ru/Ni/WC@NPC multi-interfacial electrocatalyst for efficient sustainable hydrogen and chlor-alkali co-production

Rational design and construction of a new high-efficiency hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst operating stably under high temperature, strong alkaline, and high salt conditions are the key challenges for realizing economically sustainable hydrogen generation and low energy consumption chlor-alkali co-production. Herein, according to requirements of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts under chlor-alkali electrolysis conditions, a three-component Ru/Ni/WC electrocatalyst with a weak exothermic effect for the water adsorption step (∆H${}_{H2O}$ = -0.12 eV), low water dissociation energy barrier (ΔG${}_b$ = 0.61 eV), and close-to-zero Gibbs free adsorption energy (∆G${}_{H\ast }$ = -0.03 eV) is designed through density functional theory calculations. Under the guidance of theoretical calculations, a novel multi-interface composite electrocatalyst is successfully prepared, denoted as Ru/Ni/WC@NPC (Ru wt.% = 4.13%). In a strongly alkaline medium, Ru/Ni/WC@NPC (Ru wt.% = 4.13%) records an excellent HER electrocatalytic activity with a very low overpotential (η${}_{10}$ = -3 mV) at 20 °C and even demonstrates exciting HER behavior at 90 °C (η${}_{10}$ = +2.8 mV). Most importantly, the electrochemical test under simulated chlor-alkali electrolysis condition demonstrates better HER performance than the industrial cathode material of commercial 20% Pt/C and low carbon steel. Generally, this study reveals a new strategy and reference for constructing effective and robust HER electrocatalysts that match with the chlor-alkali industry. (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH)