Reconfiguration of Localized Ruthenium Surface via Incorporating Single Platinum Atoms for Favorable Hydrogen Oxidation Catalysis
Daeil Choi, Dong Wook Lee, Hochang Song, Seung‐hoon Kim, Dohoon Kim, Jongkyung Ryu, Jue‐Hyuk Jang, Sungyong Cho, Sungchul Lee, Segeun Jang, Hyung Chul Ham, Sung Jong YooABSTRACT
Despite the fact that only 2% of active sites can satisfy hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) activity thanks to fast kinetics, the fuel cell anode is still dependent on catalysts with large amounts of platinum (Pt). Herein, a minimal‐cost ruthenium catalyst bearing ultralow quantities of Pt single atoms (RuPt SA ) is developed to provide a high catalytic activity and tolerance to impurities as well as breakthrough reduction in Pt loading amounts. By introducing 1 wt.% Pt as a galvanic replacement for the Ru lattice, the active sites for the adsorption/desorption of hydrogen and CO are redefined. Ru acts both as an electron donor to Pt and as a host for OH groups, thereby accelerating the catalytic process. Using 1 wt.% Pt atoms, the HOR activity and CO resistance of Ru/C are improved, and the HOR mass activity of RuPt SA /C is 25.4‐fold higher than that of Pt/C. Synergy between Ru and Pt is demonstrated by density functional theory calculations and verified using practical single‐cell evaluations. Furthermore, RuPt SA /C exhibits an 18.4‐fold higher mass activity than Pt/C in the HOR of an anion exchange membrane fuel cell, indicating its promise for use as a universal fuel cell anode catalyst.