Synthesis and Characterization of Multi-component Metal Oxides based on Ru-Co-Mo as Oxygen Evolving Electrocatalysts

Finding materials based on non-rare earth metals is vital for the global transition to a more sustainable economy. Discovering useful properties in common metal oxides is a promising avenue for new materials. In this work we have investigated the properties of Ru(x)CoMo(1-x) to evaluate the feasibility of its use as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, the plasma spray deposition on FTO and glass is reported as a method for production of low Ru content-CoMo oxide. The material showed a good performance in an alkaline electrolyte for OER, with no loss on stability and overpotentials to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 of 528, 483, 455, 439 mV for 0, 10, 20, and 30 At% of Ru, respectively. The final material is shown to be composed entirely of Co and Mo oxides, as well as Ru which is present in the crystal structure of these metal oxides as observed using optical characterization techniques, XRD, Raman and SEM. With the aim of maximising performance and decreasing the amount of Ru used, we find a Ru content of 20 At% is most optimal for OER in alkaline. We find therefore Ru(0.2)(CoMo)(0.8) to be an effective electrocatalyst for OER in alkaline, while examples from literature outperforms it in other applications, it is still a good basis for further work and development