In situ grown Ru-doped Ni(OH)2 nanosheets on nickel foam for stable electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction†

Designing highly efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts to facilitate overall water splitting is critical and highly desirable. Ruthenium is considered as a promising candidate for electrocatalytic water resolution of hydrogen under alkaline conditions. Ru-doped Ni(OH)₂ (Ru/Ni(OH)₂–NF) was grown in situ on the backbone of nickel foam (NF) using a simple one-pot hydrothermal method as the carrier and nickel source. Compared with blank NF and Ni(OH)₂, Ru/Ni(OH)₂–NF as a cathodic hydrogen precipitation catalyst exhibited a low overpotential of 46 mV (1.0 M KOH) at a current density of 100 mA cm⁻², and the catalytic performances were improved by 75.8% and 73.9%, respectively. This work presents a novel, low-cost and practical potential electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst.