Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lee, Jegon, Kim, Dohyun, Ji, Seulgi, Yoon, Sangmoon, Nam, Seung Hyun, Park, Jucheol, Oh, Jin Young, Jeong, Seung Gyo, Bae, Jong-Seong, Lee, Sang A, Choi, Heechae, Choi, Woo Seok
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.05363
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915656081866752
author Lee, Jegon
Kim, Dohyun
Ji, Seulgi
Yoon, Sangmoon
Nam, Seung Hyun
Park, Jucheol
Oh, Jin Young
Jeong, Seung Gyo
Bae, Jong-Seong
Lee, Sang A
Choi, Heechae
Choi, Woo Seok
author_facet Lee, Jegon
Kim, Dohyun
Ji, Seulgi
Yoon, Sangmoon
Nam, Seung Hyun
Park, Jucheol
Oh, Jin Young
Jeong, Seung Gyo
Bae, Jong-Seong
Lee, Sang A
Choi, Heechae
Choi, Woo Seok
contents The dynamic reconstruction of surfaces during electrochemical reactions plays a crucial role in determining the performance of electrocatalysts. However, because reconstructions occur at the atomic level, direct observation and elucidation of the underlying mechanism are challenging for conventional powder type catalysts with ill defined lattices. In this study, the catalytically active surface of 3C BaRuO3 (BRO) epitaxial thin films emerges upon the dynamic introduction of surface Ru clusters, for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Based on the mass activity at overpotential 100 mV, the intrinsic HER performance increases dramatically from 0.11 to 7.72 A/mg immediately after the initial HER cycle and eventually saturates at 1.05 A/mg after continuous operation. The formation of Ru clusters on the catalyst surface, driven by selective Ba leaching under alkaline HER conditions, is observed experimentally. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that HER activity increased with enhanced H* adsorption owing to the dynamic Ru6 cluster formation. A strategy for stabilizing the 'awakened' active surface of BRO is further proposed by validating that the atomic-scale control of the film thickness can effectively maintain the highly active state. This study offers fundamental insights into the design and stabilization of the highly active Ru-based electrocatalysts for the alkaline HER.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_05363
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Awakening catalytically active surface of BaRuO3 thin film for alkaline hydrogen evolution
Lee, Jegon
Kim, Dohyun
Ji, Seulgi
Yoon, Sangmoon
Nam, Seung Hyun
Park, Jucheol
Oh, Jin Young
Jeong, Seung Gyo
Bae, Jong-Seong
Lee, Sang A
Choi, Heechae
Choi, Woo Seok
Materials Science
The dynamic reconstruction of surfaces during electrochemical reactions plays a crucial role in determining the performance of electrocatalysts. However, because reconstructions occur at the atomic level, direct observation and elucidation of the underlying mechanism are challenging for conventional powder type catalysts with ill defined lattices. In this study, the catalytically active surface of 3C BaRuO3 (BRO) epitaxial thin films emerges upon the dynamic introduction of surface Ru clusters, for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Based on the mass activity at overpotential 100 mV, the intrinsic HER performance increases dramatically from 0.11 to 7.72 A/mg immediately after the initial HER cycle and eventually saturates at 1.05 A/mg after continuous operation. The formation of Ru clusters on the catalyst surface, driven by selective Ba leaching under alkaline HER conditions, is observed experimentally. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that HER activity increased with enhanced H* adsorption owing to the dynamic Ru6 cluster formation. A strategy for stabilizing the 'awakened' active surface of BRO is further proposed by validating that the atomic-scale control of the film thickness can effectively maintain the highly active state. This study offers fundamental insights into the design and stabilization of the highly active Ru-based electrocatalysts for the alkaline HER.
title Awakening catalytically active surface of BaRuO3 thin film for alkaline hydrogen evolution
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.05363