Atomically Dispersed Ru on NiFeV Layered Triple Hydroxides for Enhanced Water Oxidation

Abstract NiFe‐based (oxy)hydroxides are widely recognized as highly promising electrocatalysts for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Despite their potential, their low conductivity and sluggish charge transfer kinetics pose significant challenges to further enhancing their catalytic activity. Herein, a novel catalyst featuring Ru single‐atoms (SAs) coordinately dispersed on nickel‐iron vanadium layered triple hydroxides (Ru SAs@NiFeV‐LTHs) to improve alkaline OER performance is reported. With a Ru loading of 0.33 wt.%, this catalyst demonstrates outstanding performance, with a low Tafel slope of 27.15 mV dec ⁻¹ and minimal overpotentials of 221 and 269 mV to achieve current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm ⁻² , respectively, outperforming unmodified NiFeV‐LTHs and most other layered hydroxides reported in the literature. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibits exceptional durability, maintaining stable overpotentials for 200 hours at current densities of 10 mA cm ⁻² , 100 mA cm ⁻² , and 500 mA cm ⁻² . Density functional theory (DFT) calculations, coupled with experimental observations, identify the presence of Ru SAs as the key factor, which not only serve as superior active sites but also as modifiers of the electronic properties of the support material, thereby improving the overall conductivity and enhancing the intrinsic activity of metal sites in the catalyst's support.