Abstract
The production of hydrogen from water electrolysis calls for an efficient non-precious-metal catalyst to make the process economically viable because of the high cost and the limited supply of the currently used platinum catalysts. Here we present such a catalyst made from earth-abundant molybdenum and common, humble soybeans (MoSoy). This catalyst, composed of a catalytic β-Mo 2C phase and an acid-proof γ-Mo2N phase, drives the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with low overpotentials, and is highly durable in a corrosive acidic solution over a period exceeding 500 hours. When supported on graphene sheets, the MoSoy catalyst exhibits very fast charge transfer kinetics, and its performance rivals that of noble-metal catalysts such as Pt for hydrogen production. These findings prove that the soybean (as well as other high-protein biomass) is a useful material for the generation of catalysts incorporating an abundant transition metal, thereby challenging the exclusivity of platinum catalysts in the hydrogen economy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1818-1826 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Energy and Environmental Science |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2013 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Environmental Chemistry
- Pollution
- Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Cite this
Biomass-derived electrocatalytic composites for hydrogen evolution. / Chen, Wei Fu; Iyer, Shilpa; Iyer, Shweta; Sasaki, Kotaro; Wang, Chiu Hui; Zhu, Yimei; Muckerman, James; Fujita, Etsuko.
In: Energy and Environmental Science, Vol. 6, No. 6, 06.2013, p. 1818-1826.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Biomass-derived electrocatalytic composites for hydrogen evolution
AU - Chen, Wei Fu
AU - Iyer, Shilpa
AU - Iyer, Shweta
AU - Sasaki, Kotaro
AU - Wang, Chiu Hui
AU - Zhu, Yimei
AU - Muckerman, James
AU - Fujita, Etsuko
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - The production of hydrogen from water electrolysis calls for an efficient non-precious-metal catalyst to make the process economically viable because of the high cost and the limited supply of the currently used platinum catalysts. Here we present such a catalyst made from earth-abundant molybdenum and common, humble soybeans (MoSoy). This catalyst, composed of a catalytic β-Mo 2C phase and an acid-proof γ-Mo2N phase, drives the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with low overpotentials, and is highly durable in a corrosive acidic solution over a period exceeding 500 hours. When supported on graphene sheets, the MoSoy catalyst exhibits very fast charge transfer kinetics, and its performance rivals that of noble-metal catalysts such as Pt for hydrogen production. These findings prove that the soybean (as well as other high-protein biomass) is a useful material for the generation of catalysts incorporating an abundant transition metal, thereby challenging the exclusivity of platinum catalysts in the hydrogen economy.
AB - The production of hydrogen from water electrolysis calls for an efficient non-precious-metal catalyst to make the process economically viable because of the high cost and the limited supply of the currently used platinum catalysts. Here we present such a catalyst made from earth-abundant molybdenum and common, humble soybeans (MoSoy). This catalyst, composed of a catalytic β-Mo 2C phase and an acid-proof γ-Mo2N phase, drives the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with low overpotentials, and is highly durable in a corrosive acidic solution over a period exceeding 500 hours. When supported on graphene sheets, the MoSoy catalyst exhibits very fast charge transfer kinetics, and its performance rivals that of noble-metal catalysts such as Pt for hydrogen production. These findings prove that the soybean (as well as other high-protein biomass) is a useful material for the generation of catalysts incorporating an abundant transition metal, thereby challenging the exclusivity of platinum catalysts in the hydrogen economy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878880706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84878880706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/c3ee40596f
DO - 10.1039/c3ee40596f
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84878880706
VL - 6
SP - 1818
EP - 1826
JO - Energy and Environmental Science
JF - Energy and Environmental Science
SN - 1754-5692
IS - 6
ER -