Here comes another new discovery from the sphere of green energy. Researchers from RIKEN discovered a catalyst reduces iridium use by 95% in hydrogen production. They expect to improve sustainability in developing a carbon-neutral hydrogen economy.
The RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan engineered a catalyst that will lower the need for iridium in hydrogen electrolyzers. Due to several constraints, the production of PEM electrolysis cannot respond to large-scale usage. Usually, the electrochemical reactions work best in a supersaturated acidic medium, and rare earth metals like Iridium. It is even seen as the best candidate as catalysts. But the shortage of iridium hindered green hydrogen production until now.
In this context, Dr. Ryuhei Nakamura, the lead researcher of CSRS said, “Scaling up PEM electrolysis to the terawatt scale would require 40 years’ worth of iridium, which is certainly impractical and highly unsustainable.“
Challenges in Green Hydrogen Production
Electrolysis of water is an eco-friendly electrochemical process that separates the oxygen and hydrogen molecules. The hydrogen produced by this method can be put in storage and then used later.
Hydrogen combined with PEM (proton ion exchange membrane) is suitable for energy storage, which can run an electric car. Nevertheless, due to several constraints, the production of PEM electrolysis cannot respond to large-scale usage.
Highlights: RIKEN’s Revolutionary Catalyst Reduces Iridium Use by 95%
- The new catalyst is based on iridium atoms sprinkled on a manganese oxide substrate.
- It is electrochemically deposited on the platinum-coated titanium mesh, which is corrosion-resistant.
- The shape of this arrangement is optimal for iridium, as it provides the highest catalytic properties using the least amount of iridium.
- Moreover, it did not stick or clump together, allowing hydrogen production to remain efficient in the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer.
- The version with the best-known efficacy (94%) is used. This enables the reaction to be maintained in the acidic environment at 1000 mA/cm2 for a month.
- The quantity of charge transferred was almost 100 times greater. It is more than any previous experiment.
- A PEM electrolyzer testing for water electrolysis shows the possibility to maintain stability. It successfully maintained 82% efficiency for 4 months without degradation.
- The water electrolyzed increased 10 folds in comparison to other non-raw metal substances.
- Results indicate the possibility to increase the reaction stability over 40 times by changing the structure.
- Planar has stronger bonds with manganese and the amount of planar oxygen in the crystal positively influences the catalyst’s stability.
“We need a way to bridge the gap between rare metal and common metal-based electrolyzers so that we can make a gradual transition over many years to completely sustainable green hydrogen,” says Dr. Nakamura.
Have you heard of a study on Cost-Effective Sugar-based Catalysts that Can Effectively Destroy Carbon Dioxide?
Future Potential of the New Catalyst
“The improved stability did not come at a cost in activity, which is usually the case. A PEM water electrolyzer that generates hydrogen with an earth-abundant catalyst at a rate of 200 mA/cm2 is highly efficient.”, says Dr. Shuang Kong, the co-first author of the study.
Ultimately, the RIKEN catalyst reduces iridium use by 95% in hydrogen production and underscores the potency of innovation.
Source: Longer-lasting and more sustainable green hydrogen production
