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Project

Alternative electrocatalytic strategies for low-alkaline water electrolyzers

Alkaline water electrolysis is a key technology for large-scale hydrogen production powered by renewable energy. Today, less than 4% of hydrogen production is based on electrolysis processes, of which the main part is hydrogen as a by-product of chlorine production. Hence, the major share of the needed hydrogen depends on the fossil path through the steam reforming of natural gas. This situation is caused by the higher production costs of electrolysis processes compared to the conventional fossil sources, due to high electricity costs and interfering laws. To reduce CO2 emissions and to become independent of fossil energy carriers, the share of hydrogen produced using renewable power sources needs to be increased significantly in the next few decades. Therefore, water electrolysis is a key technology for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by using renewable energy. The aim of this PhD topic, is to investigate alternative electro-catalysts for alkaline water electrolysis and enhance its efficiency. For this purpose, 2D catalyst morphologies are looked into versus the classical nanoparticles. The 2D catalysts are developed using electrochemical atomic layer deposition (e-ALD) and other surface limited deposition techniques. Other options to nanoengineer the catalytic properties is stacking of different metal monolayers by under-potential deposition (UPD) and galvanic exchange. Eventually, we want to combine this with the high surface area nanomesh electrode, developed at imec, for a low-alkaline electrolyzer, (Press release - Novel nanomaterial promises improvements in batteries and many more sustainable applications | imec (imec-int.com): https://www.imec-int.com/en/articles/novel-nanomaterial-promises-improvements-in-batteries-and-many-more-sustainable-applications)

Date:29 Oct 2021 →  Today
Keywords:Electrochemical Atomic Layer Deposition, Electrochemistry, Low-alkaline Water Electrolysis, Electrodeposition
Disciplines:Electrochemistry
Project type:PhD project