Platinum and Gold Supported on Transition Metal Nitrides for Hydrogen Evolution in an Alkaline Electrolyte
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: As the urgency to reduce reliance on fossil fuels increases due to carbon dioxide emissions, hydrogen produced by renewably powered water electrolysis has emerged as a promising technology. Alkaline electrolyzers typically exhibit lower current densities than acidic electrolyzers due to the slow kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under alkaline conditions. This work developed Pt- and Au-modified transition metal nitride (TMN) thin films for improving alkaline HER kinetics. One monolayer Pt–VN, Pt–Mo 2 N, and Pt–TiN were the most promising thin-film catalysts, with alkaline HER activity approaching that of a bulk Pt foil. Additionally, the Gibbs free energy of adsorbed hydrogen was identified as a useful descriptor for alkaline HER activity on TMN and TMN-supported catalysts and has the potential to guide future studies on TMN-based catalysts for enhancing alkaline HER. For practical applications, the thin-film catalysts were then extended to Pt- and Au-modified TMN powders for alkaline HER. Both 5 wt % Pt/TiN and 2 wt % Pt/TiN powders exhibited lower overpotentials at 5 mA/cm 2 when normalized by the Pt electrochemical surface area than the commercial 5 wt % Pt/C benchmark, suggesting a Pt–TiN synergy that creates opportunities for more cost-effective alkaline HER cathodes. Moreover, 20 wt % Au/Mo 2 N also displayed an enhancement in HER activity when compared to the commercial 20 wt % Au/C benchmark.
Source: Energy & Fuels
Authors: Nathaniel N. Nichols, Xue Han, Sinwoo Kang, Hanjun Zhao, Shyam Kattel, Jingguang G. Chen
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1210759672, G1285306620, G1847291448, G1868695577, FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES OF CATALYTIC SITES AND CATALYST/MEMBRANE
INTEGRATIONS FOR ADVANCED HYDROXIDE EXCHANGE MEMBRANE ELECTROLYZERS, G241279073, G3262563802, G357145406, G3666143899, G3682108237, G3850097093, G3857304228, G406793873, G4093156202, G4159536310, G4404781368, G46142708, G4662383146, G4972998915, G5417557083, G5633341255, G5765906131, G6733788163, G6965541988, G7463374569, DEDICATED BEAMLINE FACILITIES FOR CATALYTIC RESEARCH: SYNCHROTRON CATALYSIS CONSORTIUM (SCC), G932478694
OpenAlex ID: W4408198576