Electrocatalysts capable of working efficiently in acidic media for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are highly demanded for the large-scale utilization of proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. This study focuses on the design and fabrication of cation/oxygen vacancy-enriched RuO₂ catalysts to investigate the impact of defect types on the OER activity and stability of RuO₂. The comprehensive blend of experimental and theoretical approaches elucidates that the presence of Ru vacancies in Ru_1–xO₂ modulates the d-band center and optimizes the adsorption energy of the OER intermediates, thereby augmenting the intrinsic OER activity. Conversely, the presence of oxygen vacancies in RuO_2-x diminishes the strength of Ru–O bonds, suppressing the involvement of the lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism (LOM) and Ru dissolution, consequently enhancing long-term stability. Notably, Ru_1–xO₂ exhibits the lowest overpotential of 212 mV at 10 mA cm_geo^–2, while RuO_2–x demonstrates superior stability, enduring 400 h under 10 mA cm_geo^–2, surpassing many catalysts for acidic OER in the literature. Our findings demonstrate that defect engineering is a promising strategy to achieve electrocatalysts with super catalytic performance in acid media for water electrolysis.

中文翻译：

---

氧化钌中阳离子和阴离子空位对酸性析氧活性和稳定性的影响


能够在析氧反应 （OER） 的酸性介质中高效工作的电催化剂对于质子交换膜 （PEM） 水电解的大规模利用非常必要。本研究侧重于阳离子/氧空位富 RuO₂ 催化剂的设计和制造，以研究缺陷类型对 RuO₂ 的 OER 活性和稳定性的影响。实验和理论方法的全面结合阐明了 Ru _1-xO₂ 中存在的 Ru 空位调节了 d 带中心并优化了 OER 中间体的吸附能，从而增强了内在的 OER 活性。相反，RuO_2-x 中存在氧空位会降低 Ru-O 键的强度，抑制晶格氧氧化机制 （LOM） 和 Ru 溶解的参与，从而增强长期稳定性。值得注意的是，Ru _1-xO₂ 在 10 mA cm ^geo-2 处表现出 212 mV 的最低过电位，而 RuO _2-x 表现出卓越的稳定性，在 10 mA cm ^geo-2 下可承受 400 小时，超过了文献中的许多酸性 OER 催化剂。我们的研究结果表明，缺陷工程是一种很有前途的策略，可以在水电解的酸性介质中获得具有超级催化性能的电催化剂。