Dilute RuCo Alloy Synergizing Single Ru and Co Atoms as Efficient and CO-Resistant Anode Catalyst for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Ruthenium (Ru) is considered a promising candidate catalyst for alkaline hydroxide oxidation reaction (HOR) due to its hydrogen binding energy (HBE) like that of platinum (Pt) and its much higher oxygenophilicity than that of Pt. However, Ru still suffers from insufficient intrinsic activity and CO resistance, which hinders its widespread use in anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). Here, we report a hybrid catalyst (RuCo)_NC+SAs/N-CNT consisting of dilute RuCo alloy nanoparticles and atomically single Ru and Co atoms on N-doped carbon nanotubes The catalyst exhibits a state-of-the-art activity with a high mass activity of 7.35 A mg_Ru⁻¹. More importantly, when (RuCo)_NC+SAs/N-CNT is used as an anode catalyst for AEMFCs, its peak power density reaches 1.98 W cm⁻², which is one of the best AEMFCs properties of noble metal-based catalysts at present. Moreover, (RuCo)_NC+SAs/N-CNT has superior long-time stability and CO resistance. The experimental and density functional theory (DFT) results demonstrate that the dilute alloying and monodecentralization of the exotic element Co greatly modulates the electronic structure of the host element Ru, thus optimizing the adsorption of H and OH and promoting the oxidation of CO on the catalyst surface, and then stimulates alkaline HOR activity and CO tolerance of the catalyst.