Sm-Induced Symmetry-Broken Ru Centers for Boosting Acidic Water Oxidation

Ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) as a promising acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers still suffers from severe excessive oxidation and Ru dissolution, leading to the loss of activity. Herein, a Sm doping in amorphous/crystalline heterophase RuO₂ (AC-Sm-RuO₂) catalyst is designed for boosting the acidic OER catalytic performance by altering the electronic properties and number of active sites. The representative AC-Sm-RuO₂ displays robust OER performance with an overpotential of 200 mV to achieve 10 mA cm^-2, and significantly enhanced stability compared to synthesized RuO₂ (S-RuO₂) and commercial RuO₂ (Com. RuO₂). Electrochemical measurements combined with advanced characterizations reveal that the high activity in AC-Sm-RuO₂ originated from the symmetry-broken Ru active sites, which lowers the formation energy barrier of *OOH; meanwhile, the improved stability arises from the strong interplay within the local Ru-O-Sm units and the characteristics of the amorphous/crystalline hybrid. This work emphasizes the effective means to design high-performance acidic OER catalysts via the synergy of microstructure symmetry disturbance and crystal phase engineering.
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