Customizing Axially‐Oriented Dual‐Atomic Synergy for Orchestrating Cascade Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

ABSTRACT The full orchestration of synergistic geometric and electronic interaction at atomic scale is fundamental to surmounting cascade kinetic bottlenecks inherent in multistep electrochemical processes. Here, an axially‐oriented, sulfur‐bridged hetero‐atomic motif (Ru─S─Co) is customized to achieve synergistic regulation throughout alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The top‐positioned Ru atoms are tailored for enhanced water capture, and the bottom‐inserted Co atoms in lattice activate middle S atoms for balanced hydrogen adsorption–desorption. This customized multi‐site synergy conspicuously lowers the energy barrier for rate‐determining water scission step. The proportion of reactive free water is elevated on this modified interface to prompt alkaline HER initiation. Furthermore, the intrinsically asymmetric charge distribution along the dual‐atom bridge enhances charge transfer during HER, and the prominent orbital coupling induces an upshift in the Ru d ‐band center together with increased density of states in S p‐orbitals around the Fermi level, further augmenting Ru‐S dual‐site activity. With this catalyst adopted as cathode, the anion‐exchange‐membrane electrolysis cell maintains an industrial current density of 1000 mA cm −2 at a small voltage of 1.79 V with negligible performance decay after long‐term stability test. This work provides insights into precise customization of atomic‐scale synergy toward effective management of kinetically mismatched multisteps in HER‐related energy conversion.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-08-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74458
Primary Topic
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Customizing Axially‐Oriented Dual‐Atomic Synergy for Orchestrating Cascade Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

Zhuo Kang, Sirui Yang, Wenhao Zheng, Yue Zhang et al.
Advanced Materials
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
article

Customizing Axially‐Oriented Dual‐Atomic Synergy for Orchestrating Cascade Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

Zhuo Kang, Sirui Yang, Wenhao Zheng, Yue Zhang, Yuchen Wang, Yong Xie, Xin Wang, Yu Sun, Zhen Tian
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The full orchestration of synergistic geometric and electronic interaction at atomic scale is fundamental to surmounting cascade kinetic bottlenecks inherent in multistep electrochemical processes. Here, an axially‐oriented, sulfur‐bridged hetero‐atomic motif (Ru─S─Co) is customized to achieve synergistic regulation throughout alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The top‐positioned Ru atoms are tailored for enhanced water capture, and the bottom‐inserted Co atoms in lattice activate middle S atoms for balanced hydrogen adsorption–desorption. This customized multi‐site synergy conspicuously lowers the energy barrier for rate‐determining water scission step. The proportion of reactive free water is elevated on this modified interface to prompt alkaline HER initiation. Furthermore, the intrinsically asymmetric charge distribution along the dual‐atom bridge enhances charge transfer during HER, and the prominent orbital coupling induces an upshift in the Ru d ‐band center together with increased density of states in S p‐orbitals around the Fermi level, further augmenting Ru‐S dual‐site activity. With this catalyst adopted as cathode, the anion‐exchange‐membrane electrolysis cell maintains an industrial current density of 1000 mA cm −2 at a small voltage of 1.79 V with negligible performance decay after long‐term stability test. This work provides insights into precise customization of atomic‐scale synergy toward effective management of kinetically mismatched multisteps in HER‐related energy conversion.

Advanced Materials
Peking University (CN), Beijing University of Technology (CN), Advanced Technology & Materials (China) (CN), University of Science and Technology Beijing (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.