l-cysteine-assisted synthesis of ruthenium sulfide/thermally reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites: Promising electrode materials for high-performance energy storage applications

2D Composite Materials for Electrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells─An Overview

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are anticipated to become economical, efficient, and commercially viable due to their simple fabrication, environmental friendliness, low-light performance, and flexibility for product integration. However, inherent voltage loss during the sensitizing dye regeneration process, uneven titanium layer deposition, electrolyte filling, and electrical interconnections contribute to the lower efficiency of DSSCs compared to conventional silicon solar cells. Researchers have focused on optimizing material and structural properties to address these issues, achieving record-setting efficiencies of up to 14%. Recently, incorporating 2D materials, such as graphene and transition metal carbides or nitrides (MXenes), has been studied to improve DSSC performance and stability. 2D materials can enhance the photoanode's diffuse reflectance, increasing light utilization efficiency. This review provides an overview of recent progress in DSSC research toward developing new materials (2D) for electrodes, focusing on applying 2D composite materials. We discuss how each of these materials has been utilized as hole-transporting layers or as dopants in electrodes to improve the photovoltaic performance and long-term stability of DSSCs. Furthermore, we outline the features that must be optimized for the highest efficiency in DSSCs and provide a perspective on future directions in DSSC research.

Review of the Design of Ruthenium-Based Nanomaterials and Their Sensing Applications in Electrochemistry

In this review, ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs)-based functional nanomaterials have attractive electrocatalytic characteristics and they offer considerable potential in a number of fields. Ru-based binary or multimetallic NPs are widely utilized for electrode modification because of their unique electrocatalytic properties, enhanced surface-area-to-volume ratio, and synergistic effect between two metals provides as an effective improved electrode sensor. This perspective review suggests the current research and development of Ru-based nanomaterials as a platform for electrochemical (EC) sensing of harmful substances, biomolecules, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, and environmental pollutants. The advantages and limitations of mono-, bi-, and multimetallic Ru-based nanocomposites for EC sensors are discussed. Besides, the relevant EC properties and analyte sensing approaches are also presented. On the basis of these insights, we highlighted recent results for synthesizing techniques and EC environmental pollutant sensors from the perspectives of diverse supports, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, silica, semiconductors, metal sulfides, and polymers. Finally, this work overviews the modern improvements in the utilization of Ru-based nanocomposites on the basis for electroanalytical sensors as well as suggestions for the field's future development.

Amorphous RuS2 electrocatalyst with optimized active sites for hydrogen evolution

Transition metal chalcogenides have attracted much attention as high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we synthesized an efficient HER electrocatalyst of amorphous ruthenium sulfide (A-RuS₂), exhibiting an overpotential of 141 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and a Tafel slope of 65.6 mV dec^-1. Experiments demonstrate amorphous RuS₂ has much better catalytic activity than that of its crystalline counterparts. Our study shows that amorphous RuS₂ has increased intrinsic activity and active sites. This work provides a feasible strategy for the development of HER electrocatalysts in amorphous state.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cobalt Ruthenium Sulfides as Promising Pseudocapacitor Electrode Materials

In this paper, we report the successful synthesis of cobalt ruthenium sulfides by a facile hydrothermal method. The structural aspects of the as-prepared cobalt ruthenium sulfides were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. All the prepared materials exhibited nanocrystal morphology. The electrochemical performance of the ternary metal sulfides was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. Noticeably, the optimized ternary metal sulfide electrode exhibited good specific capacitances of 95 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1 and 75 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, excellent rate capability (48 F g−1 at 5 A g−1), and superior cycling stability (81% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles). Moreover, this electrode demonstrated energy densities of 10.5 and 6.7 Wh kg−1 at power densities of 600 and 3001.5 W kg−1, respectively. These attractive properties endow proposed electrodes with significant potential for high-performance energy storage devices.

Facile synthesis of crystalline RuSe2 nanoparticles as a novel pseudocapacitive electrode material for supercapacitors

Crystalline RuSe₂ nanoparticles were firstly utilized as a pseudocapacitive electrode material for supercapacitors, and superior capacitive behaviors were observed.