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Advances in Water Electrolysis Technology
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Advances in Water Electrolysis Technology

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 3683

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Li Du

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Interests: energy materials including electrocatalysts for HER/OER/ORR and novel porous materials for electrochemical applications; electrochemical devices and engineering including water electrolyzer and proton exchange membrane fuel cells; lithium batteries and solid-state electrolytes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water electrolysis is the process of electrolyzing water (H2O) by employing a direct current to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Notably, due to its distinct feature of being pollution-free, hydrogen generation from water electrolysis is widely acknowledged as a sustainable technique for producing hydrogen. Unfortunately, the practical use of water electrolysis is constrained by the sluggish kinetics of the HER and OER. Currently, effective electrocatalysts are required to enhance the process, such as noble metals (Pt and Ir/RuO2). Nevertheless, the broad industrial use of hydrogen generation from electrolytic water is constrained by its high cost. Furthermore, despite significant advances in water electrolysis technology, industrial water electrolyzers are still confronting performance and durability challenges from key electrocatalysts. For the rational development of appropriate electrocatalysts, it is imperative to assess the performance of water electrolysis in industrial settings with various pH levels and high current densities.

This Special Issue concentrates on the design of electrocatalysts for electrolyzing water from the perspectives of physical chemistry and materials chemistry, such as electron orbitals, surface chemistry and nano-dimension. Moreover, experimental methodologies such as electron spectroscopy and spectroscopy with in situ observation and theoretical methods such as DFT calculation and molecular dynamic simulations are needed to explore the electrolysis reaction mechanism and ultimately realize a high-performance water electrolyzer.

Prof. Dr. Li Du
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • water electrolysis
  • design of electrocatalysts
  • physical chemistry
  • materials chemistry
  • electron orbitals
  • surface chemistry
  • nano-dimension
  • experimental methodologies
  • electron spectroscopy
  • spectroscopy
  • theoretical methods
  • DFT calculation
  • molecular dynamic simulations
  • electrolysis reaction mechanism
  • water electrolyzer

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 5910 KiB  
Article
Efficient Transformation of Water Vapor into Hydrogen by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Loaded with Bamboo Carbon Bed Structured by Fibrous Material
by Hui Xu, Ran Sun, Yujie Tan, Chenxiao Pei, Ruchen Shu, Lijie Song, Ruina Zhang, Chuang Ouyang, Min Xia, Jianyuan Hou, Xinzhong Zhang, Yuan Yuan and Renxi Zhang
Molecules 2024, 29(14), 3273; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29143273 - 11 Jul 2024
Viewed by 736
Abstract
A new method of efficiently transforming water vapor into hydrogen was investigated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) loaded with bamboo carbon bed structured by fibrous material in an argon medium. Hydrogen productivity was measured in three different reactors: a non-loaded DBD (N-DBD), a [...] Read more.
A new method of efficiently transforming water vapor into hydrogen was investigated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) loaded with bamboo carbon bed structured by fibrous material in an argon medium. Hydrogen productivity was measured in three different reactors: a non-loaded DBD (N-DBD), a bamboo carbon (BC) bed DBD (BC-DBD), and a quartz wool (QW)-loaded BC DBD (QC-DBD). The effects of the quality ratio of BC to QW and relative humidity on hydrogen productivity were also investigated in QC-DBD at various flow rates. The reaction process and mechanism were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N2 physisorption experiments, infrared spectroscopy, and optical emission spectroscopy. A new reaction pathway was developed by loading BC into the fibrous structured material to activate the reaction molecules and capture the O-containing groups in the DBD reactor. A hydrogen productivity of 17.3 g/kWh was achieved at an applied voltage of 5 kV, flow rate of 4 L/min, and 100% relative humidity (RH) in the QC-DBD with a quality ratio of BC to QW of 3.0. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Electrolysis Technology)
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13 pages, 6281 KiB  
Article
The Enhanced Performance of NiCuOOH/NiCu(OH)2 Electrode Using Pre-Conversion Treatment for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Ammonia
by Xuejiao Yin, Jiaxin Wen, Jujiao Zhao, Ran An, Ruolan Zhang, Yin Xiong, Yanzong Tao, Lingxin Wang, Yuhang Liu, Huanyu Zhou and Yuanyuan Huang
Molecules 2024, 29(10), 2339; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29102339 - 16 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 755
Abstract
Electrochemical oxidation of ammonia is an attractive process for wastewater treatment, hydrogen production, and ammonia fuel cells. However, the sluggish kinetics of the anode reaction has limited its applications, leading to a high demand for novel electrocatalysts. Herein, the electrode with the in [...] Read more.
Electrochemical oxidation of ammonia is an attractive process for wastewater treatment, hydrogen production, and ammonia fuel cells. However, the sluggish kinetics of the anode reaction has limited its applications, leading to a high demand for novel electrocatalysts. Herein, the electrode with the in situ growth of NiCu(OH)2 was partially transformed into the NiCuOOH phase by a pre-treatment using highly oxidative solutions. As revealed by SEM, XPS, and electrochemical analysis, such a strategy maintained the 3D structure, while inducing more active sites before the in situ generation of oxyhydroxide sites during the electrochemical reaction. The optimized NiCuOOH-1 sample exhibited the current density of 6.06 mA cm−2 at 0.5 V, which is 1.67 times higher than that of NiCu(OH)2 (3.63 mA cm−2). Moreover, the sample with a higher crystalline degree of the NiCuOOH phase exhibited lower performance, demonstrating the importance of a moderate treatment condition. In addition, the NiCuOOH-1 sample presented low selectivity (<20%) towards NO2− and stable activity during the long-term operation. The findings of this study would provide valuable insights into the development of transition metal electrocatalysts for ammonia oxidation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Electrolysis Technology)
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11 pages, 1583 KiB  
Article
Stabilizing Highly Active Ru Sites by Electron Reservoir in Acidic Oxygen Evolution
by Jiayan Wu, Zhongjie Qiu, Jiaxi Zhang, Huiyu Song, Zhiming Cui and Li Du
Molecules 2024, 29(4), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29040785 - 8 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1770
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis is hindered by the sluggish kinetics of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction. RuO2 is regarded as a promising alternative to IrO2 for the anode catalyst of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers due to its superior activity [...] Read more.
Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis is hindered by the sluggish kinetics of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction. RuO2 is regarded as a promising alternative to IrO2 for the anode catalyst of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers due to its superior activity and relatively lower cost compared to IrO2. However, the dissolution of Ru induced by its overoxidation under acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) conditions greatly hinders its durability. Herein, we developed a strategy for stabilizing RuO2 in acidic OER by the incorporation of high-valence metals with suitable ionic electronegativity. A molten salt method was employed to synthesize a series of high-valence metal-substituted RuO2 with large specific surface areas. The experimental results revealed that a high content of surface Ru4+ species promoted the OER intrinsic activity of high-valence doped RuO2. It was found that there was a linear relationship between the ratio of surface Ru4+/Ru3+ species and the ionic electronegativity of the dopant metals. By regulating the ratio of surface Ru4+/Ru3+ species, incorporating Re, with the highest ionic electronegativity, endowed Re0.1Ru0.9O2 with exceptional OER activity, exhibiting a low overpotential of 199 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2. More importantly, Re0.1Ru0.9O2 demonstrated outstanding stability at both 10 mA cm−2 (over 300 h) and 100 mA cm−2 (over 25 h). The characterization of post-stability Re0.1Ru0.9O2 revealed that Re promoted electron transfer to Ru, serving as an electron reservoir to mitigate excessive oxidation of Ru sites during the OER process and thus enhancing OER stability. We conclude that Re, with the highest ionic electronegativity, attracted a mass of electrons from Ru in the pre-catalyst and replenished electrons to Ru under the operating potential. This work spotlights an effective strategy for stabilizing cost-effective Ru-based catalysts for acidic OER. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Electrolysis Technology)
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