Polydopamine Decorated Ru-Ni(OH)2 Nanosheets for Enhanced Performance of Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Media

Carbon-based materials coating can serve as a protection layer to strengthen the anticorrosion and oxidation resistance ability of the catalysts. In this work, polydopamine (PDA) coated Ru-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets grown on Ni foam (Ru-Ni(OH)2/NF@PDA) was fabricated with a simple hydrothermal reaction followed by an oxidative polymerization of dopamine on the surface of Ru-Ni(OH)2/NF. Benefitting from the anticorrosion ability of PDA coating layer, the Ru-Ni(OH)2/NF@PDA displays an excellent HER activity with an overpotential of 26 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and can retain 65% after 24 h, which is more stable than that of Ru-Ni(OH)2/NF. This work adopts a green and facile pathway to enhance the HER efficiency and stability through the PDA coating, which can be appropriate for other various nanomaterials.Graphical Abstract