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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Facile Sprayed and Electro-Activated Ultra-Low Pt Loading Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and PEM Water
Donggeun Eom1,2,3,4, Youngseob Lee5, Dongwook Oh1,2,3,4
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 3, 2026
Summary
A new spray-coating method significantly reduces platinum usage in green hydrogen production via polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). This approach enables ultra-low platinum loadings, enhancing catalyst efficiency and lowering hydrogen costs.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is key for green hydrogen, but high platinum-group metal (PGM) costs and loading hinder scalability.
- Current fabrication methods for platinum (Pt) catalysts often result in poor dispersion and reduced utilization, limiting performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an effective fabrication strategy for well-dispersed, nanoscale platinum (Pt) catalysts at ultra-low loadings for PEMWE.
- To achieve high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance and efficiency in PEMWE systems using reduced PGM content.
Main Methods:
- Introduced a spray-coating assisted electrochemical reduction (Pt-SE) method for fabricating Pt catalysts.
- Achieved well-dispersed 2-3 nm Pt nanoparticles at an ultra-low loading of 0.0178 mg$_{Pt}$ cm$^{-2}$.
Main Results:
- The Pt-SE method demonstrated excellent HER activity with an overpotential of 87 mV at 1 A cm$^{-2}$ and a mass activity 30-fold higher than commercial Pt/C.
- PEMWE cathodes using Pt-SE achieved 1.62 V and 90.6% higher-heating-value efficiency at 1 A cm$^{-2}$.
- Techno-economic analysis indicated a 98% Pt reduction lowers the levelized cost of hydrogen to $3.91 kg$_{H2}$ $^{-1}$.
Conclusions:
- The Pt-SE method is a scalable and economically viable approach for fabricating ultra-low PGM catalysts for PEMWE.
- This advancement significantly reduces PGM usage, making green hydrogen production more cost-effective and aligned with targets.
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