Stabilizing ruthenium atom layer neighbors through molecular and metal support interactions for water electrolyzers.
12 affiliations
- 1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea.
- 2Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea.
- 3Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA.
- 4Hydrogen Energy Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Daejeon, Korea.
- 5Department of Energy Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), Naju, Korea.
- 6School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Korea.
- 7Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea.
- 8Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Korea.
- 9Research Center for Materials Analysis, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), Daejeon, Korea. [email protected].
- 10Division of Chemical, Biomolecular and Energy Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea. [email protected].
- 11Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea. [email protected].
- 12Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea. [email protected].
Abstract
Designing catalysts that maximize both atomic efficiency and catalytic activity remains a central challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. While single-atom catalysts maximize noble metal utilization, their isolated structure limits the adsorption configurations of adsorbates, thereby diminishing their catalytic efficiency. We present a versatile platform based on atom-layer neighbors, where the proximity of Ru ensembles diversifies adsorption configurations while simultaneously enhancing adsorbate binding through ligand effects. By leveraging molecular interactions and strong metal-support interactions, we thermodynamically stabilize atomically thin structures comprising only a few Ru atoms, allowing the synthesis of size-tuned Ru atom-layer neighbors on WCx supports. The optimized *H binding on size-tuned Ru ensembles, combined with *OH enrichment on WCx supports, leads to competitive activity per unit noble metal cost in anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Notably, our catalyst achieves the DOE 2026 performance target for PEMWE even at a lower temperature of 60 °C, with a Ru loading of 0.100 mg cm⁻², below the DOE's ultimate noble metal loading threshold. This atom-layer neighbor platform offers a general strategy for enhancing catalyst efficiency while maintaining high noble metal utilization.
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BibTeX
@article{kim2026stabilizing,
title = {{Stabilizing ruthenium atom layer neighbors through molecular and metal support interactions for water electrolyzers.}},
author = {Seongbeen Kim and Hyunwoo Jun and Jihye Park and Sungjun Kim and Sunghyun Noh and Seung-Jae Shin and Bupmo Kim and Kug-Seung Lee and Jiwon Kim and Jaeho Byeon and Minkyeong Ban and Daeeun Choi and Hoijun Kim and Jong Hyun Jang and Wooyul Kim and Joonhee Moon and Jang Yong Lee and Hyungjun Kim and Jinwoo Lee},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78037-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907481},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Stabilizing ruthenium atom layer neighbors through molecular and metal support interactions for water electrolyzers.
AU - Seongbeen Kim
AU - Hyunwoo Jun
AU - Jihye Park
AU - Sungjun Kim
AU - Sunghyun Noh
AU - Seung-Jae Shin
AU - Bupmo Kim
AU - Kug-Seung Lee
AU - Jiwon Kim
AU - Jaeho Byeon
AU - Minkyeong Ban
AU - Daeeun Choi
AU - Hoijun Kim
AU - Jong Hyun Jang
AU - Wooyul Kim
AU - Joonhee Moon
AU - Jang Yong Lee
AU - Hyungjun Kim
AU - Jinwoo Lee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78037-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907481
AB - Designing catalysts that maximize both atomic efficiency and catalytic activity remains a central challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. While single-atom catalysts maximize noble metal utilization, their isolated structure limits the adsorption configurations of adsorbates, thereby diminishing their catalytic efficiency. We present a versatile platform based on atom-layer neighbors, where the proximity of Ru ensembles diversifies adsorption configurations while simultaneously enhancing adsorbate binding through ligand effects. By leveraging molecular interactions and strong metal-support interactions, we thermodynamically stabilize atomically thin structures comprising only a few Ru atoms, allowing the synthesis of size-tuned Ru atom-layer neighbors on WCx supports. The optimized *H binding on size-tuned Ru ensembles, combined with *OH enrichment on WCx supports, leads to competitive activity per unit noble metal cost in anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Notably, our catalyst achieves the DOE 2026 performance target for PEMWE even at a lower temperature of 60 °C, with a Ru loading of 0.100 mg cm⁻², below the DOE's ultimate noble metal loading threshold. This atom-layer neighbor platform offers a general strategy for enhancing catalyst efficiency while maintaining high noble metal utilization.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -