The reporter learned from the University of Science and Technology of China on the 15th that the professor Wu Yuen ’s research team at the school used an innovative process to make a major breakthrough in the catalyst for oxygen precipitation, an important step for the industrialization of hydrogen production from electrolyzed water. Cover article of Nature-Catalysis.
The key to the marketization of "ultimate energy" hydrogen energy is the efficient and cheap production of hydrogen. Among them, electrolyzed water is one of the most promising preparation methods. However, the efficient and inexpensive oxygen precipitation catalyst necessary for the electrolysis of water is one of the most difficult challenges currently facing. It is also known as the "two holy grails in the field of efficient use of hydrogen energy" with the "development of non-platinum oxygen reduction catalysts".
A commonly used commercial catalyst for oxygen evolution is iridium dioxide. Iridium metal is expensive and has become a major obstacle to the promotion of high-energy, clean, and cheap hydrogen energy. In contrast, ruthenium metal reserves are richer and the price is cheaper. If used in industry, it can effectively reduce the cost of hydrogen production. However, in a strong acid and strong oxidizing environment, ruthenium dioxide is easily oxidized to ruthenium tetroxide at high potential, thereby losing catalytic activity. Therefore, the development of a highly active and highly stable ruthenium single-atom catalyst has become the most promising approach.
The stability of ruthenium-based catalysts in acidic oxygen precipitation is a recognized worldwide problem. In order to achieve efficient and cheap hydrogen production by electrolyzed water, the scientific research team has innovatively proposed a method of capturing and stabilizing single atoms using a platinum-based alloy with strong oxidation resistance and resistance to dissolution as a carrier, and using surface defect engineering technology. The ruthenium single-atom alloy catalyst was successfully prepared. The overpotential of the ruthenium single-atom alloy catalyst was reduced by about 30% relative to the commercial ruthenium-based catalyst, and the stability was improved by nearly 10 times.
This achievement not only successfully realized the embedding of monoatomic ruthenium into a stable alloy carrier to prepare a high-efficiency catalyst, but also the strategy of using metal / alloy carriers to regulate the monoatomic electronic structure is expected to be applied to Other reaction systems, which is a similar scientific problem. Providing ideas marks a big step towards a green future where hydrogen energy is widely used. (Reporter Wu Changfeng)
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