BEIJING – Recent research into the demanding task of developing catalysts for hydrogen production has made substantial progress.
Professor Yong-Tae Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Eco Materials Technology, and Kyu-Su Kim, a doctoral student from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), collaborated on a research project that offers a promising direction for the future development of catalysts for water electrolysis.
Their study was showcased as the cover article in ACS Catalysis.
Water electrolysis, a method for producing hydrogen from the abundant resource of water, emerges as an environmentally friendly technology that produces no carbon dioxide emissions. However, this process faces limitations due to its reliance on precious metal catalysts such as iridium (Ir), rendering it economically unfeasible. Researchers are actively exploring the development of catalysts in the form of metal alloys to address this challenge.
In the field of water electrolysis catalysis research, the primary catalysts under scrutiny are iridium, ruthenium (Ru), and osmium (Os). Iridium, despite its high stability, exhibits low activity and comes at a steep price. Conversely, ruthenium displays commendable activity and is a more cost-effective option compared to iridium, although it lacks the same level of stability.
Osmium, on the other hand, readily dissolves under various electrochemical conditions, leading to the formation of nanostructures with an expanded electrochemical active surface area, thereby enhancing geometrical activity.
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