Electronic and active sites reconstruction endowed by atomic ruthenium-modulated V₂P-MoP heterointerfaces-hybridized N-doped carbon for enhanced water splitting

For clean hydrogen energy production, the pursuit of highly active and stable electrocatalysts for efficient overall water splitting (OWS) is noteworthy. This study presents a rational design approach for a spherical flower-like electrocatalyst configuration derived from atomic ruthenium-doped binary metallic phosphide heterointerfaces hybridizing with a nitrogen-doped carbon layer (Ru-V₂P-MoP/N-C), which induces surface charge redistribution and energetic restructuring to expose enriched multiple active sites, thereby impressively promoting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium. In consequence, the Ru-V₂P-MoP/N–C exhibits a low overpotential of 63 mV for HER and 245 mV for OER to reach 10 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH. The two-electrode Ru-V₂P-MoP/N−C_(+,−) cell requires a voltage of 1.45 and 1.55 V at 75 and 25 °C, respectively, at 10 mA cm⁻² for OWS in 1.0 M KOH medium. Furthermore, the prototype anion-exchange membrane electrolyzer exhibits a high current density of 0.5/1.0 A cm⁻² at a stack voltage of 1.77/1.88 V, and remarkable stability in simulated industrial conditions. This study offers a valuable design guideline of a high-efficiency electrocatalyst for OWS through the atomic-level manipulation of heterointerfaces and doping effects, thereby presenting a promising strategy for efficient and clean hydrogen production technology.