Recent advances on engineering RuO2-based Electrocatalysts for acidic oxygen evolution reaction: From the perspective of reaction mechanisms

Electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an important process for many energy conversion technologies, while the OER efficiency and rate are seriously hampered by the sluggish reaction kinetics in acidic solution, necessitating the development of highly active electrocatalysts. RuO2 stands out as a potential alternative for IrO2 for acidic OER, while achieving simultaneously high OER activity and stability is still challenging. To address this issue, enormous endeavors have been made, and great progress has been achieved. This review reports the recent advance in the engineering of RuO2-based electrocatalysts for promoting acidic OER, emphasizing the influence of reaction mechanisms on catalytic performance via summarizing some key engineering strategies, including tailoring RuO covalency, introducing Ru-O-M active site, optimizing the d-band center, strain engineering, manipulating the surface microenvironment, regulating the charge distribution at the Ru active site. In addition, we have also manifested the challenges and perspectives for the design and fabrication of more efficient RuO2-based catalysts for promoting acidic OER performance.