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Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition
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Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 5773

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Loreta Tamasauskaite-Tamasiunaite

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Catalysis, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: nanoparticles; composites; metals; multifunctional materials; catalysts; fuel cells
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Virginija Kepeniene

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Catalysis, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: electrocatalysis; electrocatalysts; microwave synthesis; fuel cells; electrochemistry; electroless metal plating; nanocomposite; carbon-based catalysts; advanced multifunctional materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of the previous Special Issue, “Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts”, following its great success.

The rapidly developing global economy needs large amounts of energy, and pollution by emissions from fossil fuel consumption is causing serious climate problems as a result of greenhouse effects. Therefore, finding alternative renewable energy resources and using clean energy efficiently are urgent issues. This Special Issue is devoted to all aspects of recent research progress in the design and development of high-efficiency materials for applications in renewable and sustainable energy production, e.g., next-generation fuel cells, batteries, electrolyzers, and solar cells. We are pleased to invite submissions in the form of original research articles, short communications, and reviews that involve the synthesis of novel materials; the investigation of the mechanisms and kinetics of the electrooxidation of fuels, such as methanol, ethanol, formic acid, sodium borohydride, and hydrazine; and the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen reduction (ORR), oxygen evolution (OER), hydrogen evolution (HER), and carbon dioxide (CO2), among others. This Special Issue is not limited to the abovementioned topics, but also welcomes manuscripts on the latest achievements, challenges, and future opportunities for the integration of novel materials in efficient energy conversion and storage systems.

Dr. Loreta Tamasauskaite-Tamasiunaite
Dr. Virginija Kepeniene
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electrocatalysts
  • synthesis
  • electrooxidation of fuels
  • fuel cells
  • batteries
  • electrocatalysis
  • oxygen reduction and evolution
  • hydrogen evolution
  • carbon monoxide oxidation
  • carbon dioxide conversion

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 5042 KiB  
Article
Effect of N-Doped Carbon on the Morphology and Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) Activity of a Xerogel-Derived Mn(II)O Electrocatalyst
by Shaik Gouse Peera, Ravindranadh Koutavarapu, P. Siva Prasada Reddy, Ganesh Koyyada, Abdullah N. Alodhayb, Saravanan Pandiaraj, Seung Won Kim and Mohan Rao Tamtam
Catalysts 2024, 14(11), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14110792 - 6 Nov 2024
Viewed by 612
Abstract
This work synthesizes a xerogel from a sol–gel synthesis strategy and supports it on N-doped carbon support from spent coffee biomass (Mn(II)O/N-CC, hereafter MnO) as an efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst in alkaline electrolytes. The effects of N-CC carbon content on MnO [...] Read more.
This work synthesizes a xerogel from a sol–gel synthesis strategy and supports it on N-doped carbon support from spent coffee biomass (Mn(II)O/N-CC, hereafter MnO) as an efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst in alkaline electrolytes. The effects of N-CC carbon content on MnO nanoparticle size, dispersion, distribution, morphology, and electrochemistry on ORR are discussed. The SEM and TEM measurements show that increasing the N-CC content during the MnO gelation reaction improved MnO dispersion and particle size during thermal treatment, increasing the ORR’s electrochemical active surface area. Several physiochemical and electrochemical characterizations show a clear relationship between N-CC catalysts and ORR activities. The best catalyst, MnO/N-CC-5, had an even distribution of 27 nm MnO nanoparticles on the N-CC support. The MnO/N-CC-5 catalyst had almost identical ORR kinetics and stability to those of the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst in 0.1 M KOH electrolytes, losing only 10 mV in half-wave potential after 5000 potential cycles and retaining 96% of current for over 10 h of continuous chronoamperometric stability. By measuring the electrochemical active surface areas of various catalysts by cyclic voltammetry at different scan rates and measuring the double layer capacitance (Cdl) and ECSA, MnO/N-CC-5 catalysts were shown to have enhanced ORR activity. The XPS analysis explains the ORR activity in terms of the Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio, and a mechanism was proposed. These findings suggest that the MnO/N-CC-5 catalyst could be a cathode catalyst in fuel cells, biofuel cells, metal–air batteries, and other energy conversion devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 4945 KiB  
Article
Metal–Organic Framework-Derived Rare Earth Metal (Ce-N-C)-Based Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reactions in Dual-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells
by Shaik Ashmath, Hao Wu, Shaik Gouse Peera and Tae-Gwan Lee
Catalysts 2024, 14(8), 506; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14080506 - 5 Aug 2024
Viewed by 952
Abstract
Pt supported on carbon (Pt/C) is deemed as the state-of-the-art catalyst towards oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) in chemical and biological fuel cells. However, due to the high cost and scarcity of Pt, researchers have focused on the development of Earth-abundant non-precious metal catalysts, [...] Read more.
Pt supported on carbon (Pt/C) is deemed as the state-of-the-art catalyst towards oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) in chemical and biological fuel cells. However, due to the high cost and scarcity of Pt, researchers have focused on the development of Earth-abundant non-precious metal catalysts, hoping to replace the traditional Pt/C catalyst and successfully commercialize the chemical and biological fuel cells. In this regard, electrocatalysts made of transition metals emerged as excellent candidates for ORRs, especially the electrocatalysts made of Fe and Co in combination with N-doped carbons, which produce potentially active M-N4-C (M=Co, Fe) ORR sites. At present, however, the transition metal-based catalysts are popular; recently, electrocatalysts made of rare earth metals are emerging as efficient catalysts, due to the fact that rare earth metals also have the potential to form rare earth metal-N4-C active sites, just like transition metal Fe-N4-C/Co-N4-C. In addition, mixed valance states and uniqueness of f-orbitals of the rare earth metals are believed to improve the redox properties of the catalyst that helps in enhancing ORR activity. Among the rare earth metals, Ce is the most interesting element that can be explored as an ORR electrocatalyst in combination with the N-doped carbon. Unique f-orbitals of Ce can induce distinctive electronic behavior to the catalyst that helps to form stable coordination structures with N-doped carbons, in addition to its excellent ability to scavenge the OH● produced during ORRs, therefore helping in catalyst stability. In this study, we have synthesized Ce/N-C catalysts by a metal–organic framework and pyrolysis strategy. The ORR activity of Ce/N-C catalysts has been optimized by systematically increasing the Ce content and performing RDE studies in 0.1 M HClO4 electrolyte. The Ce/N-C catalyst has been characterized systematically by both physicochemical and electrochemical characterizations. The optimized Ce/N-C-3 catalyst exhibited a half-wave potential of 0.68 V vs. RHE. In addition, the Ce/N-C-3 catalyst also delivered acceptable stability with a loss of 70 mV in its half-wave potential when compared to 110 mV loss for Pt/C (10 wt.%) catalyst, after 5000 potential cycles. When Ce/N-C-3 is used as a cathode catalyst in dual-chamber microbial fuel cells, it delivered a volumetric power density of ~300 mW m−3, along with an organic matter degradation of 74% after continuous operation of DCMFCs for 30 days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition)
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22 pages, 6470 KiB  
Article
Controllable Synthesis of Fe2O3/Nickel Cobaltite Electrocatalyst to Enhance Oxidation of Small Molecules
by Fowzia S. Alamro, Shymaa S. Medany, Nada S. Al-Kadhi, Ayman M. Mostafa, Walaa F. Zaher, Hoda A. Ahmed and Mahmoud A. Hefnawy
Catalysts 2024, 14(5), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14050329 - 17 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1082
Abstract
Nickel-based catalysts have been widely recognized as highly promising electrocatalysts for oxidation. Herein, we designed a catalyst surface based on iron oxide electrodeposited on NiCo2O4 spinel oxide. Nickel foam was used as a support for the prepared catalysts. The modified [...] Read more.
Nickel-based catalysts have been widely recognized as highly promising electrocatalysts for oxidation. Herein, we designed a catalyst surface based on iron oxide electrodeposited on NiCo2O4 spinel oxide. Nickel foam was used as a support for the prepared catalysts. The modified surface was characterized by different techniques like electron microscopy and X-ray photon spectroscopy. The activity of the modified surface was investigated through the electrochemical oxidation of different organic molecules such as urea, ethanol, and ethylene glycol. Therefore, the modified Fe@ NiCo2O4/NF current in 1.0 M NaOH and 1.0 M fuel concentrations reached 31.4, 27.1, and 17.8 mA cm−2 for urea, ethanol, and ethylene glycol, respectively. Moreover, a range of kinetic characteristics parameters were computed, such as the diffusion coefficient, Tafel slope, and transfer coefficient. Chronoamperometry was employed to assess the electrode’s resistance to long-term oxidation. Consequently, the electrode’s activity exhibited a reduction ranging from 17% to 30% over a continuous oxidation period of 300 min. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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28 pages, 5335 KiB  
Review
Proton-Exchange Membrane Electrolysis for Green Hydrogen Production: Fundamentals, Cost Breakdown, and Strategies to Minimize Platinum-Group Metal Content in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts
by Henrique F. Araújo, Julián A. Gómez and Diogo M. F. Santos
Catalysts 2024, 14(12), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14120845 - 22 Nov 2024
Abstract
Green hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a promising energy carrier for decarbonizing the industrial, building, and transportation sectors. However, current green H2 production technologies face challenges that limit cost reduction and scaling up. Platinum-group metals (PGMs), including platinum and iridium, [...] Read more.
Green hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a promising energy carrier for decarbonizing the industrial, building, and transportation sectors. However, current green H2 production technologies face challenges that limit cost reduction and scaling up. Platinum-group metals (PGMs), including platinum and iridium, present exceptional electrocatalytic properties for water splitting, but their high cost is a significant barrier. This directly impacts the overall cost of electrolyzers, thus increasing green H2 production costs. The present work covers the fundamentals of water electrolysis, the currently available technologies, focusing on proton-exchange membrane electrolyzers, and the critical role of electrocatalysts, discussing potential strategies for reducing the PGM content and, consequently, decreasing green H2 cost. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition)
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23 pages, 3377 KiB  
Review
A Review of Hydrogen Production via Seawater Electrolysis: Current Status and Challenges
by Yixin Zhang, Yu Zhang, Zhichuan Li, Ende Yu, Haibin Ye, Zihang Li, Xinshu Guo, Daojin Zhou, Cheng Wang, Qihao Sha and Yun Kuang
Catalysts 2024, 14(10), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14100691 - 4 Oct 2024
Viewed by 2605
Abstract
Seawater electrolysis represents a promising green energy technology with significant potential for efficient energy conversion. This study provides an in-depth examination of the key scientific challenges inherent in the seawater-electrolysis process and their potential solutions. Initially, it analyzes the potential issues of precipitation [...] Read more.
Seawater electrolysis represents a promising green energy technology with significant potential for efficient energy conversion. This study provides an in-depth examination of the key scientific challenges inherent in the seawater-electrolysis process and their potential solutions. Initially, it analyzes the potential issues of precipitation and aggregation at the cathode during hydrogen evolution, proposing strategies such as self-cleaning cathodes and precipitate removal to ensure cathode stability in seawater electrolysis. Subsequently, it addresses the corrosion challenges faced by anode catalysts in seawater, introducing several anti-corrosion strategies to enhance anode stability, including substrate treatments such as sulfidation, phosphidation, selenidation, and LDH (layered double hydroxide) anion intercalation. Additionally, this study explores the role of regulating the electrode surface microenvironment and forming unique coordination environments for active atoms to enhance seawater electrolysis performance. Regulating the surface microenvironment provides a novel approach to mitigating seawater corrosion. Contrary to the traditional understanding that chloride ions accelerate anode corrosion, certain catalysts benefit from the unique coordination environment of chloride ions on the catalyst surface, potentially enhancing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. Lastly, this study presents the latest advancements in the industrialization of seawater electrolysis, including the in situ electrolysis of undiluted seawater and the implementation of three-chamber dual anion membranes coupled with circulating electrolyte systems. The prospects of seawater electrolysis are also explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Energy-Related Materials in Catalysts, 2nd Edition)
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