Atomic ruthenium coordinated with chlorine and nitrogen as efficient and multifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting and rechargeable zinc-air battery

Abstract Design and fabrication of multifunctional efficient and durable single atom electrocatalyst is highly desirable and challenging for overall water splitting and zinc-air battery. Herein, a novel and efficient ruthenium coordinated with Cl and N single atom catalyst (Ru–Cl–N SAC) was synthesized. X-ray adsorption spectroscopy combined with theoretical calculation results unveiled an atomic configuration of RuCl2N2. Electrochemical measurement disclosed that the Ru–Cl–N SAC exhibited superior electrocatalytic activities toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with low overpotential and long-term durability in alkaline medium. Furthermore, a well-qualified assembly of overall water splitting cell requiring only 1.49 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm− 2 and a rechargeable zinc-air battery with a specific capacity of 804.26 mAh g− 1 and long-term durability for 360 h were fabricated based on the Ru–Cl–N SAC. The present work would pave the way for design and fabrication of novel and efficient multifunctional electrocatalyst in the realm of energy conversion and storage.