@article {48157, title = {Morphology-tuned Pt3Ge accelerates water dissociation to industrial-standard hydrogen production over a wide pH range}, journal = {Advanced Materials}, volume = {34}, year = {2022}, month = {JUL}, pages = {2202294}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

The discovery of novel materials for industrial-standard hydrogen production is the present need considering the global energy infrastructure. A novel electrocatalyst, Pt3Ge, which is engineered with a desired crystallographic facet (202), accelerates hydrogen production by water electrolysis, and records industrially desired operational stability compared to the commercial catalyst platinum is introduced. Pt3Ge-(202) exhibits low overpotential of 21.7 mV (24.6 mV for Pt/C) and 92 mV for 10 and 200 mA cm(-2) current density, respectively in 0.5 m H2SO4. It also exhibits remarkable stability of 15 000 accelerated degradation tests cycles (5000 for Pt/C) and exceptional durability of 500 h (@10 mA cm(-2)) in acidic media. Pt3Ge-(202) also displays low overpotential of 96 mV for 10 mA cm(-2) current density in the alkaline medium, rationalizing its hydrogen production ability over a wide pH range required commercial operations. Long-term durability (\>75 h in alkaline media) with the industrial level current density (\>500 mA cm(-2)) has been demonstrated by utilizing the electrochemical flow reactor. The driving force behind this stupendous performance of Pt3Ge-(202) has been envisaged by mapping the reaction mechanism, active sites, and charge-transfer kinetics via controlled electrochemical experiments, ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in situ infrared spectroscopy, and in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy further corroborated by first principles calculations.

}, keywords = {Electrochemistry, hydrogen production, intermetallics, water electrolysis}, issn = {0935-9648}, doi = {10.1002/adma.202202294}, author = {Mondal, Soumi and Sarkar, Shreya and Bagchi, Debabrata and Das, Tisita and Das, Risov and Singh, Ashutosh Kumar and Prasanna, Ponnappa Kechanda and Vinod, C. P. and Chakraborty, Sudip and Peter, Sebastian C.} } @article {48935, title = {Active site engineering and theoretical aspects of {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}Superhydrophilic{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} nanostructure array enabling efficient overall water electrolysis}, journal = {Small}, volume = {19}, year = {2023}, month = {DEC}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

The rational design of noble metal-free electrocatalysts holds great promise for cost-effective green hydrogen generation through water electrolysis. In this context, here, the development of a superhydrophilic bifunctional electrocatalyst that facilitates both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline conditions is demonstrated. This is achieved through the in situ growth of hierarchical NiMoO4@CoMoO4 center dot xH(2)O nanostructure on nickel foam (NF) via a two-step hydrothermal synthesis method. NiMoO4@CoMoO4 center dot xH(2)O/NF facilitates OER and HER at the overpotentials of 180 and 220 mV, respectively, at the current density of 10 mA cm(-2). The NiMoO4@CoMoO4 center dot xH(2)O/NF parallel to NiMoO4@CoMoO4 center dot xH(2)O/NF cell can be operated at a potential of 1.60 V compared to 1.63 V displayed by the system based on the Pt/C@NF parallel to RuO2@NF standard electrode pair configuration at 10 mA cm(-2) for overall water splitting. The density functional theory calculations for the OER process elucidate that the lowest Delta G of NiMoO4@CoMoO4 compared to both Ni and NiMoO4 is due to the presence of Co in the OER catalytic site and its synergistic interaction with NiMoO4. The preparative strategy and mechanistic understanding make the windows open for the large-scale production of the robust and less expensive electrode material for the overall water electrolysis.

}, keywords = {density functional theory (DFT) study, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Hydrothermal synthesis, oxygen evolution reaction (OER), superhydrophilic nanostructures, synergistic interaction, water electrolysis}, issn = {1613-6810}, doi = {10.1002/smll.202304143}, author = {Barik, Sidharth and Kharabe, Geeta Pandurang and Illathvalappil, Rajith and Singh, Chandrodai Pratap and Kanheerampockil, Fayis and Walko, Priyanka S. and Bhat, Suresh K. and Devi, R. Nandini and Vinod, C. P. and Krishnamurty, Sailaja and Kurungot, Sreekumar} } @article {49882, title = {Optimisation of metallic bismuth nanoparticle supported Pt-Bi(x\%)/C hybrid electrocatalyst for cost effective and efficient hydrogen production in alkaline media}, journal = {International Journal of Hydrogen Energy}, volume = {161}, year = {2025}, month = {AUG}, pages = {150699}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

The present study employed a simple mechanochemical method followed by 24-h ultrasonication to synthesize oxide-free metallic bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles. This was further used to synthesize a Pt-Bi(x\%)/C (NC-x) hybrid electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements reveal, Bi modifies the electronic structure and surface morphology of the Pt/C electrocatalyst, thus enhancing reaction kinetics and active site availability. The relative three-electrode study reveals that optimised NC-20 electrocatalyst reduces the overpotentials by 10.44 \% and enhances the current density by 53 \% compared to commercial Pt/C. The practical applicability of the NC-20 electrocatalyst was studied with the 13 cm2 single cell anion exchange membrane electrolyser. The catalyst demonstrates promising performance where the current density of NC-20//IrO2 relatively increases by 22.6 \% compared to standard Pt/ C//IrO2, and shows continuous production and stable performance when monitored for 30 h.

}, keywords = {AEM, Bismuth nanoparticles, electrocatalyst, Full cell electrolysis, hydrogen evolution reaction, water electrolysis}, issn = {0360-3199}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150699}, author = {Dokhe, Revati and Ugale, Atul and Dube, Onkar and Varpe, Vaibhav and Galave, Chaitanya and Hattale, Gangadhar and Kadam, Rutuja and Virole, Vishal and Kumar, Ajay and Husale, Sudhir and Natu, Varun and Shevate, Rahul and Kanawade, Rajesh} } @article {49784, title = {Selective anodic transformation of glycerol with ZnCo 2 O 4 2D nanoplates: sustainable coproduction of carbon-negative green hydrogen and formic acid}, journal = {ACS Sustainable Chemistry \& Engineering}, volume = {13}, year = {2025}, month = {JUL }, pages = {11458-11473}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

In the pursuit of sustainable green hydrogen production, the electrooxidation of abundantly available carbon-containing molecules at a significantly low voltage presents a promising pathway, helping to reduce the cost of hydrogen generation while simultaneously yielding value-added chemicals/fuels. In the current study, we report the template-free green synthesis of ZnCo2O4 directly on Ni-foam (NF), demonstrating anodic stability and bifunctional electrocatalytic activity toward alkaline (1 M KOH) glycerol oxidation over an extended duration of 230 h at 50 mA cm- 2. The catalyst{\textquoteright}s high electrochemical surface area contributes to its remarkable performance, enabling sustained high current density. Compared with monometallic (ZnO or Co3O4) oxides, ZnCo2O4 oxide reveals superior catalytic performance. The two-electrode electrolyzer setup (ZnCo2O4 oxide/NF || ZnCo2O4 oxide/NF) operates at a significantly low cell potential of 1.9 V to achieve 100 mA cm- 2 in 0.2 M glycerol, which is 180 mV lower than that of conventional 1 M KOH solution. The three-electrode setup achieved 1 A/cm2 current density at 1.907 V vs RHE. Both anodic and cathodic processes exhibit high Faradaic efficiency, achieving 98\% efficiency for H2 and 90\% selectivity toward formate generation, along with significant methanol production. This demonstrates efficient C-C bond cleavage capability with glycerol to predominantly C1-products. The electrocatalytic formate production from alkaline glycerol using ZnCo2O4 offers an energy-efficient pathway, facilitating carbon-negative green hydrogen generation, thus contributing to a cleaner and sustainable energy landscape.

}, keywords = {energy conversion, Formic acid, glyceroloxidation, green H-2, water electrolysis}, issn = {2168-0485}, doi = {10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c03558}, author = {Saha, Arindam and Murugiah, Vasantharadevi and Kollenteakathootu, Jayalakshmi and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.} }