Ruthenium-doped molybdenum boride for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The creation of highly efficient electrocatalysts is essential for advancing hydrogen production through the hydrogen evolution reaction. In this paper, synthesizing ruthenium-doped molybdenum boride (Ru/MoB_x) electrocatalysts involved a one-step molten salt process. Introducing ruthenium significantly enhances the electrocatalytic behavior. When the doping ratio of Ru reaches 7 %, we observed remarkable hydrogen evolution reactivity in acidic environments, it necessitates a mere 106 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻². Tafel slope for 7 % Ru/MoB_x catalyst is 65 mV dec^-1. Additionally, the synthesized optimal ratio of Ru/MoB_x also showed excellent stability in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte, and negligible current density decrease after more than 20 h of constant potential operation. This study offers a novel approach in regard to the design of stable and high-performance electrocatalysts based on metal borides. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.