关键词: RuO₂(110)晶面, 酸性析氧, Ce/Co掺杂, 吸附质介导机理, 密度泛函理论

Abstract: Although Ru-based catalysts have been widely exploited in oxygen evolution reaction (OER), they still face significant challenges in simultaneously achieving high activity and long-term stability. Here, we propose a catalyst design strategy that engineers phases beyond conventional atomic ordering by constructing a RuO₂(110)-dominated architecture (CeCo-RuO₂). The resulting catalyst exhibits an overpotential of 198 mV@10 mA cm^–2 and exceptional durability, operating stably for over 500 h at a current density of 100 mA cm^–2 with a minimal current decay rate of 0.04 mV h^–1. The engineered RuO₂ phase architecture and atomic arrangement induce electronic structure reconfiguration, thereby optimizing active-site density and structural robustness. In-situ characterization combined with density functional theory calculations reveal that CeCo-RuO₂ preferentially follows adsorbate evolution mechanism with reduced energy barriers, thereby suppressing lattice oxygen participation and mitigating structural instability. In all, we demonstrate dopant-enabled phase confinement as an effective design strategy for developing active and durable OER catalysts.

Key words: RuO₂(110), Acidic oxygen evolution, Ce/Co-dopant, Adsorbate evolution mechanism, Density functional theory