Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Performance of Nitrogen-Doped Ultra-Thin Carbon Nanosheets Composite Ru1Co Single Atom Alloy Catalysts^†

Energy transformation is imminent, and hydrogen energy is one of the important new energy sources. One of the keys to increasing the rate of hydrogen evolution during electrolysis is the use of high-performance catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER). Single-atom alloys (SAAs) have garnered significant attention because they partially reduce costs and combine the advantages of both single-atom catalysts (SACs) and alloy catalysts. Herein, an efficient pyrolysis strategy based on a mixing and drying process is designed to anchor ultra-small Co cluster particles, combined with Ru single atoms dispersed on nitrogen-doped ultra-thin carbon nanosheets (Ru₁Co SAA/NC). The prepared electrocatalyst exhibits superior OER activity and superb stability, demonstrating an overpotential of 238 mV for OER with a current density of 10 mA·cm^–2 in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄. And we also utilized in-situ XAS to detect the oxidation state of Ru sites during OER. All in all, this method achieves cost reductions and efficiency improvements through the design of SAAs, offering new prospects for the structural transformation of clean energy.