Descripción del proyecto
Estabilidad de los catalizadores en corrientes de evolución de hidrógeno elevadas
El hidrógeno es una alternativa a los combustibles fósiles y el mejor modo de obtenerlo es mediante la disociación electrolítica del agua alimentada con fuentes de energía renovable. Los electrocatalizadores REH (reacción de evolución del hidrógeno), como los de platino, son los más activos pero también caros y no resistentes al paso del tiempo debido a la acumulación de nanopartículas metálicas en los soportes. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos HyCat propone distintas opciones para reducir la cantidad de este metal noble y así garantizar la estabilidad del catalizador deteniendo los procesos de agregación. Su producto se basará en un catalizador REH estable y muy activo compuesto por una capa porosa de cobre y platino nanoestructurada que se hace crecer directamente en un colector de corriente de titanio mediante electrodeposición lenta e «in situ» de platino. Este catalizador ofrece una corriente de evolución de hidrógeno elevada y estabilidad a largo plazo en condiciones de empleo.
Objetivo
Hydrogen could replace fossil fuels, and electrolytic water splitting using renewable energy sources is a promising way to obtain it. The most active hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts to date are platinum group metals (PGM), mainly Pt and its alloys, deposited onto a carbon support. Pt is however costly and the catalysts degrade over time, due to aggregation of metal nanoparticles over the support. Also, no valuable contenders to Pt group metals have been identified for the alkaline HER. To address these issues, we propose to focus again on PGM based catalysts, but with solutions that reduce the amount of noble metal and that ensure catalyst stability by preventing aggregation. In our recently completed ERC project TRANS-NANO, we have prepared a highly active and stable HER catalyst, composed of a nanostructured Cu-Pt porous layer, directly grown onto a Ti current collector by in-situ slow electrodeposition of Pt. This catalyst delivers high hydrogen evolution current and outperforms the benchmark Pt/C in terms of activity at high overpotentials, and solves the most critical issue of Pt/C: its low long-term stability under operational conditions. Our catalyst can achieve the same performances of the Pt/C catalyst, but with a much lower Pt loading. For Ru, the process delivers a Cu-Ru/Ti catalyst with even better performance than the Cu-Pt/Ti system. In this POC project, we will upscale the production of Cu-Pt and Cu-Ru catalysts, starting from large area Ti substrates. Their HER activity will be tested under industrially relevant conditions. Such electrode architecture will enable the fabrication of high-performance alkaline water electrolysers for large-scale applications. Our team is best suited to take this challenge, having a consolidated expertise in developing nanoscale materials and catalysts, and in their exploitation for both oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions. The proposal envisages a strong collaboration with the industry sector.
Ámbito científico
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysiselectrocatalysis
- natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrolysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum PilotInstitución de acogida
16163 Genova
Italia