Ruthenium-cobalt bimetallic nanoparticles supported on oxidized carbon nanotubes as HER catalyst under alkaline conditions

The development of efficient, reliable, and clean Ru-based catalysts to replace commercial Pt/C catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) will play an important role in the future of sustainable energy. In this work, a series of catalysts consisting of ruthenium-cobalt bimetallic nanoalloy loaded on oxidized carbon nanotubes (RuxCoy@OCNTs) was prepared for HER under alkaline electrolyte (pH = 14). With an annealing temperature of 700 celcius and a Ru/Co doping ratio of 1/1.5, the Ru1Co1.5@OCNT-700 catalyst exhibited outstanding catalytic performance and excellent stability. Under a current density of 10 mA cm-2, the required overpotential was 17.6 mV and the Tafel slope was 35.78 mV dec-1. This work provides a reference for preparing better Ru-based catalysts for HER in alkaline electrolyte, and the prepared catalyst shows excellent promise for producing hydrogen.