A-site doped ruthenium perovskite bifunctional electrocatalysts with high OER and ORR activity

The bifunctional catalysts which can improve both oxygen evolution (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity are highly desirable for fuel cells, metal-air batteries and water splitting. Here, we report a perovskite structure Sr0.9M0.1RuO3-δ (SMRO, M=K, Na, Ag) synthesized via sol-gel method performing excellent bifunctional catalytic activity. With the metal ion (M+) doping in A-site, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals that oxygen vacancy and lattice oxygen are introduced into the structure, which is confirmed as the primary reason for the improvement of catalytic activity. The highest OER and ORR activity among these four samples is observed in Sr0.9Ag0.1RuO3 (SARO). This work may shed light on the designing of high-efficiency bifunctional OER/ORR electrocatalysts.