Ni/Ru@NC-CeO2 composite for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media: Effect of CeO2 decoration with Ru@NC on the catalytic activity

The design of composites with controlled interfaces has proven to be an efficient approach to obtaining highly active electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction with improved stability. In this work, we report the preparation of Ni-based composites by co-depositing commercial CeO2 nanoparticles and Ru nanoparticles with N-doped carbon patches supported onto CeO2 (Ru@NC-CeO2) using a facile electrodeposition method. The Ru@NC-CeO2 nanoparticles were obtained through the impregnation of CeO2 with Ru organometallic pre-cursor and subsequent pyrolysis. A comprehensive chemical, structural and morphological characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles and co-deposit composites is presented. The cyclic voltammetry analysis showed that the composites exhibit a higher current density in comparison to the conventional nickel Watts catalyst; specifically a -48 % increase for the CeO2-containing composite, and -105 % for the Ru@NC-CeO2 based composite. This study demonstrates that the small addition of Ru to the CeO2 nanoparticles on the nickel matrix can improve drastically the performance towards HER in alkaline media.