Low Platinum-Loaded Molybdenum Co-catalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline and Acidic Media
Praveen Malali1, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla1, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni2
1Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering Technology, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909, United States.
Abstract:
Developing an efficient catalytic system for electrolysis with reduced platinum (Pt) loading while maintaining performance comparable to bulk platinum metal is important to decrease costs and improve scalability of the hydrogen fuel economy. Here we report the performance of a novel sputter-deposited molybdenum (Mo) thin film with an extremely low co-loading of Pt, where Pt atoms were dispersed on Mo (Ptd-Mo) as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in either alkaline or acidic media. The Ptd-Mo electrocatalyst presents similar catalytic activity to bulk Pt in alkaline media, while the performance is only slightly decreased in acidic media. Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) results confirm that the Ptd-Mo electrocatalyst produced hydrogen at a rate comparable with that of a pristine Pt sample at the same potential. A comparison with Pt-loaded degenerately doped p-type doped silicon (Ptd-Si) suggests that Mo and Pt work synergistically to boost the performance of Ptd-Mo catalysts. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after 1000 cycles of continuous operation confirm the significant durability of the Ptd-Mo performance. Overall, the Ptd-Mo electrocatalyst, with comparable HER activity to bulk Pt despite an ultra-low Pt loading, could be a strong candidate for hydrogen production in either acidic or basic conditions.
More Related Videos
09:18Simple Methods for the Preparation of Non-noble Metal Bulk-electrodes for Electrocatalytic Applications
Published on: June 21, 2017
06:32A Simple, Low-cost, and Robust System to Measure the Volume of Hydrogen Evolved by Chemical Reactions with Aqueous Solutions
Published on: August 17, 2016
Related Concept Videos
02:13Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...
02:17Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
02:24Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.