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Recent Advances of Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Water Splitting

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2023) | Viewed by 14062

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering, UT Space Institute, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37388, USA
Interests: catalysts; water electrolysis/hydrogen production; fuel cell; rechargeable Li/Zn ion batteries; electrochemical energy storage/conversion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ever-increasing global energy demands have driven extensive research efforts on developing renewable and green electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies in the past decade. Water splitting has become a promising carbon-free approach to produce hydrogen as a clean fuel with a high specific energy and environmental friendliness via the integration of various renewable energy sources. Currently, low-temperature water electrolysis technologies can be mainly categorized into alkaline electrolysis, anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysis, and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. For these water electrolysis technologies, catalysts and electrode fabrications not only largely determine energy efficiency and durability but also mainly contribute to the overall capital and operation costs of water electrolysis for real device applications in industry. Particle size, morphology/nanostructure, conductivity, and surface chemistry properties have been demonstrated to be the major influencing factors for overall water splitting reactions.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of original research papers, reviews, and perspectives that focus on promising and novel research outcomes in the synthesis, functionalization, characterization, and application of novel catalysts for water electrolysis. Submissions may cover themes including but not limited to:

  • Cost-effective synthesis approaches of novel catalysts including bi-functional catalysts for overall water electrolysis;
  • Elaborate fabrication of robust electrodes with high durability;
  • Catalyst degradation and electrode failure mechanisms using advanced in situ and ex situ characterization techniques;
  • Performance evaluation from conventional RDE testing to device levels, such as AEM electrolyzers and PEM electrolyzers.

Dr. Zhiqiang (Andrew) Xie
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • catalysts
  • oxygen evolution reaction (OER)
  • hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
  • water splitting
  • hydrogen production

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2952 KiB  
Article
RuCo Alloy Nanoparticles Embedded into N-Doped Carbon for High Efficiency Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst
by Cheng Wang, Yibo Wang, Zhaoping Shi, Wenhua Luo, Junjie Ge, Wei Xing, Ge Sang and Changpeng Liu
Energies 2022, 15(8), 2908; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15082908 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2802
Abstract
For large-scale and sustainable water electrolysis, it is of great significance to develop cheap and efficient electrocatalysts that can replace platinum. Currently, it is difficult for most catalysts to combine high activity and stability. To solve this problem, we use cobalt to regulate [...] Read more.
For large-scale and sustainable water electrolysis, it is of great significance to develop cheap and efficient electrocatalysts that can replace platinum. Currently, it is difficult for most catalysts to combine high activity and stability. To solve this problem, we use cobalt to regulate the electronic structure of ruthenium to achieve high activity, and use carbon matrix to protect alloy nanoparticles to achieve high stability. Herein, based on the zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a novel hybrid composed of RuCo alloy nano-particles and N-doped carbon was prepared via a facile pyrolysis-displacement-sintering strategy. Due to the unique porous structure and multi-component synergy, the optimal RuCo500@NC750 material in both acidic and alkaline media exhibited eminent HER catalytic activity. Notably, the 3-RuCo500@NC750 obtained a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at 22 mV and 31 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1.0 M KOH, respectively, comparable to that of the reference Pt/C catalyst. Furthermore, the Tafel slopes of the catalyst are 52 mV Dec−1 and 47 mV Dec−1, respectively, under acid and alkali conditions, and the catalyst has good stability, indicating that it has broad application prospects in practical electrolytic systems. This work contributes to understanding the role of carbon-supported polymetallic alloy in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution process, and provides some inspiration for the development of a high efficiency hydrogen evolution catalyst. Full article
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Review

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43 pages, 27886 KiB  
Review
Review of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction—A Basic Approach
by Thomas B. Ferriday, Peter Hugh Middleton and Mohan Lal Kolhe
Energies 2021, 14(24), 8535; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14248535 - 17 Dec 2021
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 9784
Abstract
An increasing emphasis on energy storage has resulted in a surge of R&D efforts into producing catalyst materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with emphasis on decreasing the usage of platinum group metals (PGMs). Alkaline water electrolysis holds promise for satisfying future [...] Read more.
An increasing emphasis on energy storage has resulted in a surge of R&D efforts into producing catalyst materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with emphasis on decreasing the usage of platinum group metals (PGMs). Alkaline water electrolysis holds promise for satisfying future energy storage demands, however the intrinsic potential of this technology is impeded by sluggish reaction kinetics. Here, we summarize the latest efforts within alkaline HER electrocatalyst design, where these efforts are divided between three catalyst design strategies inspired by the three prevailing theories describing the pH-dependence of the HER activity. Modifying the electronic structure of a host through codoping and creating specific sites for hydrogen/hydroxide adsorption stand out as promising strategies. However, with the vast amount of possible combinations, emphasis on screening parameters is important. The authors predict that creating a codoped catalyst using the first strategy by screening materials based on their hydrogen, hydroxide and water binding energies, and utilizing the second and third strategies as optimization parameters might yield both active and stable HER catalyst materials. This strategy has the potential to greatly advance the current status of alkaline water electrolysis as an energy storage option. Full article
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