Gamma-rays induced strong coupling between Ru nanoparticles and cobalt-based metal–organic framework nanolayers for methanol oxidation and hydrogen evolution†

The development of anodic reactions with accelerated kinetics to replace the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to promote the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high value-added production is of crucial importance in the field of electrocatalytic hydrogen production. In this paper, the thermodynamically favourable methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is combined with the HER for energy-efficient hydrogen production. The Ru nanoparticles supported on metal–organic framework nanolayers (Ru@Co MOLs) are synthesized via a gamma-ray irradiation-induced reduction reaction. The abundant defects within the composite facilitate uniform dispersion and strong anchoring of Ru. As a result, Ru@Co MOLs exhibit remarkable HER and MOR activity with an overpotential of 20 mV and 1.094 V at 10 mA cm⁻². Moreover, in the presence of methanol, they only require a lower voltage of 1.182 V at 10 mA cm⁻² in a two-electrode electrolyzer. This work presents a promising bifunctional catalyst for methanol oxidation with energy-efficient hydrogen production.