Lanthanides Regulate the Oxide Pathway Mechanism of RuO(2) to Boost Acidic Oxygen Evolution.

Regulating the reaction pathway of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal in enhancing the activity and stability of RuO-based catalysts. However, it remains challenging to achieve the desired oxide pathway mechanism (OPM) for RuO-based catalysts. Herein, we use density functional theory calculations to predict that Sm doping can tune the OER pathway of RuO toward the OPM. We successfully synthesize various lanthanide-doped RuO catalysts and demonstrate an overpotential as low as 184 mV at 10 mA cm for Sm-doped RuO supported on reduced graphene oxide (Sm-RuO/rGO). Sm-RuO/rGO exhibits a stable operation for over 200 h at 500 mA cm. In situ characterizations confirm the functionality of incorporated Sm atoms in triggering an OPM pathway for RuO. Our work demonstrates an effective strategy to regulate the OER pathway of RuO-based catalysts, enabling highly efficient and durable OER under acidic conditions and showing great promise for industrial applications.