Unveiling the nature of Pt-induced anti-deactivation of Ru for alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction

Abstract While Ru owns superior catalytic activity toward hydrogen oxidation reaction and cost advantages, the catalyst deactivation under high anodic potential range severely limits its potential to replace the Pt benchmark catalyst. Unveiling the deactivation mechanism of Ru and correspondingly developing protection strategies remain a great challenge. Herein, we develop atomic Pt-functioned Ru nanoparticles with excellent anti-deactivation feature and meanwhile employ advanced operando characterization tools to probe the underlying roles of Pt in the anti-deactivation. Our studies reveal the introduced Pt single atoms effectively prevent Ru from oxidative passivation and consequently preserve the interfacial water network for the critical H* oxidative release during catalysis. Clearly understanding the deactivation nature of Ru and Pt-induced anti-deactivation under atomic levels could provide valuable insights for rationally designing stable Ru-based catalysts for hydrogen oxidation reaction and beyond.