The role of nanosized SnO 2 in Pt-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen production in methanol assisted water electrolysis

Electrocatalysis Boosts the Methanol Thermocatalytic Dehydrogenation for High-Purity H2 and CO Production

Hydrogen production from methanol represents an energy-sustainable way to produce ethanol, but it normally results in heavy CO2 emissions. The selective conversion of methanol into H2 and valuable chemical feedstocks offers a promising strategy; however, it is limited by the harsh operating conditions and low conversion efficiency. Herein, we realize efficient high-purity H2 and CO production from methanol by coupling the thermocatalytic methanol dehydrogenation with electrocatalytic hydrogen oxidation on a bifunctional Ru/C catalyst. Electrocatalysis enables the acceleration of C-H cleavage and reduces the partial pressure of hydrogen at the anode, which drives the chemical equilibrium and significantly enhances methanol dehydrogenation. Furthermore, a bilayer Ru/C + Pd/C electrode is designed to mitigate CO poisoning and facilitate hydrogen oxidation. As a result, a high yield of H2 (558.54 mmol h-1 g-1) with high purity (99.9%) was achieved by integrating an applied cell voltage of 0.4 V at 200 °C, superior to the conventional thermal and electrocatalytic processes, and CO is the main product at the anode. This work presents a new avenue for efficient H2 production together with valuable chemical synthesis from methanol.

Efficient Low-temperature Hydrogen Production by Electrochemical-assisted Methanol Steam Reforming

Methanol steam reforming (MSR) provides an alternative way for efficient production and safe transportation of hydrogen but requires harsh conditions and complicated purification processes. In this work, an efficient electrochemical-assisted MSR reaction for pure H2 production at lower temperature (~140 °C) is developed by coupling the electrocatalysis reaction into the MSR in a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis reactor. By electrochemically assisted, the two critical steps including the methanol dehydrogenation and water-gas shift reaction are accelerated, which is attributed to decreasing the methanol dehydrogenation energy and promoting the dissociation of H2 O to OH* by the applied potential. Furthermore, the reduced H2 partial pressure by the hydrogen oxidation and reduction process further promotes MSR. The combination of these advantages not only efficiently decreases the MSR temperature but also achieves the high rate of hydrogen production of 505 mmol H2  g Pt -1 h-1 with exceptionally high H2 selectivity (99 %) at 180 °C and a low voltage (0.4 V), and the productivity is about 30-fold than that of traditional MSR. This study opens up a new avenue to design novel electrolysis cells for hydrogen production.

A Novel Chemical-Electrochemical Hydrogen Production from Coal Slurry by a Two-Step Process: Oxidation of Coal by Ferric Ions and Electroreduction of Hydrogen Ions

Hydrogen production from the electrolysis of coal slurry is a promising approach under the condition of low voltage (0.8-1.2 V) and medium temperature. However, the rate of hydrogen production is slugged by poor anode kinetics, under an electrochemical condition that results from the collision of the coal particles with the anode surface. This paper reports a novel process that consists of two steps: the oxidation of the coal slurry by ferric ions(III) in a hydrothermal reactor at a temperature of 120-160 °C and the electro-oxidation of ferric ions(II) in the electrochemical cell to produce hydrogen. This technique circumvents the technical issues experienced in the conventional coal slurry electrolysis process by adopting a two-step process consisting of solid-liquid reactions instead of solid-solid reactions. This indirect oxidation process produced a current density of 120 mA/cm² at room temperature and a voltage of 1 V, which is higher than the values reported in the conventional processes. An investigation of the oxidation mechanism was carried out via scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The results obtained showed that the oxidation of coal by ferric ions occurs from the surface to the inner parts of the coal particles in a stepwise manner. It was also revealed that the ferric ions in the media increased the active interfaces both of the coal particles and of the anode electrode. This explains the high hydrogen production rate obtained from this process. This novel discovery can pave the way for the commercialization of coal slurry electrolysis.

Morphological and Elemental Investigations on Co–Fe–B–O Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Alkaline Water Oxidation: Charge Exchange Efficiency as the Prevailing Factor in Comparison with the Adsorption Process

Abstract

Mixed transition-metals oxide electrocatalysts have shown huge potential for electrochemical water oxidation due to their earth abundance, low cost and excellent electrocatalytic activity. Here we present Co–Fe–B–O coatings as oxygen evolution catalyst synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) which provided flexibility to investigate the effect of morphology and structural transformation on the catalytic activity. As an unusual behaviour, nanomorphology of 3D-urchin-like particles assembled with crystallized CoFe2O4 nanowires, acquiring high surface area, displayed inferior performance as compared to core–shell particles with partially crystalline shell containing boron. The best electrochemical activity towards water oxidation in alkaline medium with an overpotential of 315 mV at 10 mA/cm2 along with a Tafel slope of 31.5 mV/dec was recorded with core–shell particle morphology. Systematic comparison with control samples highlighted the role of all the elements, with Co being the active element, boron prevents the complete oxidation of Co to form Co3+ active species (CoOOH), while Fe assists in reducing Co3+ to Co2+ so that these species are regenerated in the successive cycles. Thorough observation of results also indicates that the activity of the active sites play a dominating role in determining the performance of the electrocatalyst over the number of adsorption sites. The synthesized Co–Fe–B–O coatings displayed good stability and recyclability thereby showcasing potential for industrial applications.

Graphic Abstract

Methanol Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production Using Polymer Electrolyte Membrane: A Mini-Review

Hydrogen (H2) has attained significant benefits as an energy carrier due to its gross calorific value (GCV) and inherently clean operation. Thus, hydrogen as a fuel can lead to global sustainability. Conventional H2 production is predominantly through fossil fuels, and electrolysis is now identified to be most promising for H2 generation. This review describes the recent state of the art and challenges on ultra-pure H2 production through methanol electrolysis that incorporate polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). It also discusses about the methanol electrochemical reforming catalysts as well as the impact of this process via PEM. The efficiency of H2 production depends on the different components of the PEM fuel cells, which are bipolar plates, current collector, and membrane electrode assembly. The efficiency also changes with the nature and type of the fuel, fuel/oxygen ratio, pressure, temperature, humidity, cell potential, and interfacial electronic level interaction between the redox levels of electrolyte and band gap edges of the semiconductor membranes. Diverse operating conditions such as concentration of methanol, cell temperature, catalyst loading, membrane thickness, and cell voltage that affect the performance are critically addressed. Comparison of various methanol electrolyzer systems are performed to validate the significance of methanol economy to match the future sustainable energy demands.

Engineering a solid-state metalloprotein hydrogen evolution catalyst

Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in decarbonising our energy systems. Crucial to achieving this is the ability to produce clean sources of hydrogen using renewable energy sources. Currently platinum is commonly used as a hydrogen evolution catalyst, however, the scarcity and expense of platinum is driving the need to develop non-platinum-based catalysts. Here we report a protein-based hydrogen evolution catalyst based on a recombinant silk protein from honeybees and a metal macrocycle, cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPPIX). We enhanced the hydrogen evolution activity three fold compared to the unmodified silk protein by varying the coordinating ligands to the metal centre. Finally, to demonstrate the use of our biological catalyst, we built a proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis cell using CoPPIX-silk as the hydrogen evolution catalyst that is able to produce hydrogen with a 98% Faradaic efficiency. This represents an exciting advance towards allowing protein-based catalysts to be used in electrolysis cells.