催化学报 ›› 2026, Vol. 84: 80-95.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65023-1

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

钌单原子/纳米簇双引擎活性中心协同提升析氢反应性能

刘沛林a, 庄夏青a, 崔天泽a, 魏子森a, 徐华c, 张若霖c, 杨矞琦d(), 罗佳庆d(), 宋卫余a,b, 刘云鹏e,f(), 孔裕e,g, 李振兴b, 赵震b,h, 刘坚b,i, 孙源卿a,b()   

  1. a 中国石油大学(北京)理学院, 北京市油气资源与探测国家重点实验室, 北京 102249
    b 中国石油大学(北京)重质油国家重点实验室, 北京 102249
    c 中国石油化工股份有限公司石油化工科学研究院, 北京 102206
    d 中国石油大学(北京)克拉玛依校区, 重质油国家重点实验室克拉玛依分室, 新疆克拉玛依 834000
    e 中国科学院高能物理研究所, 多学科研究中心, 北京 100049
    f 中国科学院大学, 北京 100049
    g 北京化工大学化学学院, 北京 100029
    h 沈阳师范大学化学化工学院, 能源与环境催化研究所, 辽宁沈阳 110034
    i 辽宁石油化工大学石油化工学院, 辽宁抚顺 113001

Dual-engine active centers of Ru single atoms and nanoclusters synergistically enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction

Peilin Liua, Xiaqing Zhuanga, Tianze Cuia, Zisen Weia, Hua Xuc, Ruolin Zhangc, Yuqi Yangd(), Jiaqing Luod(), Weiyu Songa,b, Yunpeng Liue,f(), Yu Konge,g, Zhenxing Lib, Zhen Zhaob,h, Jian Liub,i, Yuanqing Suna,b()   

  1. a Beijing Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Optical Detection Technology, and Basic Research Center for Energy Interdisciplinary, School of Science, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
    b State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
    c Petrochemical Research Institute, PetroChina Company Limited, Beijing 102206 China
    d State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing at Karamay, China University of Petroleum Beijing at Karamay, Karamay 834000, Xinjiang, China
    e Multi-disciplinary Research Division, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    f University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    g College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
    h Institute of Catalysis for Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, Liaoning, China
    i School of Petrochemical Engineering, Liaoning Petrochemical University, Fushun 113001, Liaoning, China
  • Received:2025-10-01 Accepted:2025-12-29 Online:2026-05-18 Published:2026-04-16
  • Contact: *E-mail: yqsun@cup.edu.cn (Y. Sun),
    yuqiyang@cupk.edu.cn (Y. Yang),
    luojiaqing@cupk.edu.cn (J. Luo),
    liuyunpeng@ihep.ac.cn (Y. Liu).
  • Supported by:
    authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFA1501304);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22035009);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22122113)

摘要:

单原子、纳米簇及纳米颗粒等多活性位点的协同整合已被证实能显著提升析氢反应(HER)的电催化性能. 然而, 如何精确构建单原子/纳米簇协同位点并深入理解其反应机制是一项挑战. 本文旨在通过分子级设计合成一种“双引擎”钌(Ru)基催化剂, 并深入揭示其在碱性HER中的高效协同机制. 我们创新性地发展了一种简便的合成策略, 以间氨基苯酚与甲醛为前驱体, 通过调控间苯二酚和间氨基苯酚的比例, 利用氨基与羟基官能团对Ru3+的差异化锚定能力及其热稳定性, 成功制备了负载于间氨基苯酚/甲醛树脂衍生的氮掺杂碳球上的钌单原子与纳米簇催化剂(Ru1-n@AFCS). 作为对比, 制备了活性位点重叠的Ru1-n@RFCS及仅含纳米颗粒的样品. 球差校正电镜、X-射线吸收谱、X-射线光电子能谱等表征 结果表明, Ru单原子(以Ru-N2C2配位)与Ru纳米簇(~1.32 nm)均匀分布在氮掺杂空心碳球载体上. 电化学测试显示, Ru1-n@AFCS在1 mol L-1 KOH中表现出优异的HER活性, 仅需11.2 mV过电位即可达到10 mA cm-2电流密度, 质量活性高达5158.2 A g-1, 是商用20% Pt/C的60倍. 选择性毒化实验表明, Ru纳米簇是氢吸附/脱附的主要活性位点; 而CO溶出与原位拉曼光谱证实, 邻近的Ru单原子作为强羟基吸附位点, 将水分子解离能垒从0.74 eV显著降至0.38 eV, 并优化了界面水氢键网络, 有效促进质子传输. 密度泛函理论计算进一步从能量上证实了该“双引擎”机制的可行性. 基于上述结果,我们提出如下反应机制: 在初始态, 一个水分子吸附于一个钌单原子与一个钌纳米簇之间. 由于两活性位点对水分子的吸附亲和力存在差异, 水分子的氧原子倾向于靠近Ru单原子, 氢原子则指向Ru纳米簇. 在反应过程中, 靠近纳米簇的O-H键由平衡态距离0.98 Å逐渐拉伸至过渡态的1.4 Å, 最终在终态达到2.5 Å, 完成解离并生成吸附氢物种. 解离后的H和OH分别优先吸附于Ru纳米簇和Ru单原子上, 有效稳定了过渡态, 显著降低了水解离的活化能. 将该催化剂应用于阴离子交换膜电解池时, 其在1 A cm-2的工业级电流密度下可稳定运行240 h, 性能衰减率仅为1.2 mV h-¹, 远优于Pt/C基准, 展现出良好的实际应用潜力.

综上, 本文成功开发了一种具有独立且相邻分布的Ru单原子/纳米簇复合催化剂. 两种活性位点通过电子结构调控与协同反应机制, 显著加速了碱性HER过程. 本工作不仅提出了一种精准调控金属活性中心空间排布的合成策略, 还从实验与理论层面揭示了双位点协同催化的微观机理, 为理性设计高效电解水催化剂提供了新思路.

关键词: 单原子, 纳米簇, 双引擎活性位点, 析氢反应, 阴离子交换膜电解槽

Abstract:

The integration of multiple active sites has been demonstrated to significantly enhance the electrocatalytic performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the precise construction of synergistic SAs/NCs sites and a thorough understanding of their reaction mechanisms remain challenging. Herein, a straightforward synthetic strategy is developed for the fabrication of Ru SAs and NCs supported on nitrogen-doped carbon spheres derived from m-aminophenol/formaldehyde resin (denoted as Ru1-n@AFCS), achieved by tuning the ratio of resorcinol to m-aminophenol during phenolic resin polymerization. The optimized Ru1-n@AFCS HER performance in alkaline media, requiring an overpotential of only 11.2 mV to achieve 10 mA cm-2 and displaying a mass activity of 5158.2 A g-1, which is 60 times higher than that of commercial 20% Pt/C (85.4 A g-1) at -0.025 V vs. RHE. When integrated into an anion-exchange-membrane water electrolyzer, the catalyst achieves a current density of 1 A cm-2 at 1.80 V with a remarkable noble metal mass activity of 55.2 A mg-Ru-1. Combined experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the nitrogen-doped carbon support modulates electronic structure of Ru NCs, while adjacent isolated Ru SAs facilitate hydrogen transfer via strong hydroxyl adsorption, collectively forming a “dual-engine” catalytic center that significantly enhances alkaline HER performance.

Key words: Single atoms, Nanoclusters, Dual-engines, Hydrogen evolution reaction, Anion-exchange-membrane water electrolyzer