Ru dopant induced high selectivity and stability of ternary RuSnTi electrode toward chlorine evolution reaction

Chlorine evolution reaction (CER) in chlor-alkali industry is limited by oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their common active sites and close standard reaction potentials. Herein, a ternary RuSnTi electrode was synthesized and exhibits a superior CER activity in saturated NaCl solution. Theoretical studies reveal that Ru dopant improves the electrical conductivity of RuSnTi by contributing Ru orbitals to the energy band curves through/near the Fermi level. RuSnTi delivers a current density of 96.6 mA cm−2 at potential of 1.15 V (saturated calomel electrode, SCE), much higher than that of the dimensionally stable anode (DSA). Moreover, the inhibitory effect of Sn species on OER endows RuSnTi with a high Cl2 selectivity of 95.7%. Besides, RuSnTi shows good stability during long-term stability test by stably operating 240 h at 100 mA cm−2 in saturated NaCl solution (pH = 7), highlighting the great potential in practical application. This work provides new insights into the development of high-performance Ru-based CER electrodes.