Membrane-free pure H2 production over single dispersed Ru-anchored Pt3Ni alloys via coupling ethanol selective electrooxidation

The sluggish kinetics and high overpotential of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at anode hinders water splitting large-scale application. Recently, an anode alternative strategy exhibits promising prospect of application to improve reaction kinetics and decrease overpotential. Here, single dispersed Ru-anchored porous Pt 3 Ni alloy (Ru 1 -Pt 3 Ni/NiF) were successfully synthesized via spontaneous galvanic reduction, over which highly selective electrooxidation of ethanol into acetate was realized. DFT calculations show that Ru modification introduced abundant active oxygen species (OH*), which not only enhanced the oxidation activity of ethanol, but also increased the selectivity for C2 oxidation pathway. Then a Ru 1 -Pt 3 Ni/NiF||Pt 3 Ni/NiF ethanol oxidation membrane-free cell was built to couple the ethanol electrooxidation with H 2 evolution, where the Faraday efficiency of H 2 production reaches 94% and the power consumption is 19.24 kWh kg H2 -1 . This work provides a cost-competitive and energy-saving strategy for high-purity H 2 generation, opening new opportunities for electric energy utilization from renewable sources. • Single-dispersed Ru anchored Pt 3 Ni alloys were synthesized via spontaneous galvanic reduction process. • Selective electrooxidation of ethanol to acetate was realized over Ru 1 -Pt 3 Ni/NiF. • DFT calculations revealed that Ru promoted the charge transfer and reduced the Gibbs free formation energy of OH*. • Membrane-free pure H 2 production with 19.24 kWh kg H2 -1 power consumption via coupling HER and ethanol selective electrooxidation.