The Heterostructure of Ru₂P/WO₃/NPC Synergistically Promotes H₂O Dissociation for Improved Hydrogen Evolution

Facilitating the dissociation of water and desorption of hydrogen are both crucial challenges for improving the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. Herein, we report the synthesis of heterostructure of Ru₂P/WO₃@NPC(N, P co-doped carbon) by a simple hydrothermal reaction using ruthenium and tungsten salts as precursors, followed by pyrolyzing under an Ar atmosphere. The Ru₂P/WO₃@NPC electrocatalyst exhibits an outstanding HER activity with an overpotential of 15 mV at a current density of 10 mAcm^-2 and excellent durability in a 1.0 M KOH solution, outperforming state-of-the-art Pt/C and most reported electrocatalysts. Experimental results combined with density functional calculations reveal that the electron density redistribution in Ru₂P/WO₃@NPC is achieved by electron transfer from NPC to Ru₂P/WO₃ and from Ru₂P to WO₃, which directly promotes the dissociation of water on W sites in WO₃ and desorption of hydrogen on Ru sites in Ru₂P.