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- Title
High-performance alkaline water electrolyzers based on Ru-perturbed Cu nanoplatelets cathode.
- Authors
Zuo, Yong; Bellani, Sebastiano; Ferri, Michele; Saleh, Gabriele; Shinde, Dipak V.; Zappia, Marilena Isabella; Brescia, Rosaria; Prato, Mirko; De Trizio, Luca; Infante, Ivan; Bonaccorso, Francesco; Manna, Liberato
- Abstract
Alkaline electrolyzers generally produce hydrogen at current densities below 0.5 A/cm2. Here, we design a cost-effective and robust cathode, consisting of electrodeposited Ru nanoparticles (mass loading ~ 53 µg/cm2) on vertically oriented Cu nanoplatelet arrays grown on metallic meshes. Such cathode is coupled with an anode based on stacked stainless steel meshes, which outperform NiFe hydroxide catalysts. Our electrolyzers exhibit current densities as high as 1 A/cm2 at 1.69 V and 3.6 A/cm2 at 2 V, reaching the performances of proton-exchange membrane electrolyzers. Also, our electrolyzers stably operate in continuous (1 A/cm2 for over 300 h) and intermittent modes. A total production cost of US$2.09/kgH2 is foreseen for a 1 MW plant (30-year lifetime) based on the proposed electrode technology, meeting the worldwide targets (US$2–2.5/kgH2). Hence, the use of a small amount of Ru in cathodes (~0.04 gRu per kW) is a promising strategy to solve the dichotomy between the capital and operational expenditures of conventional alkaline electrolyzers for high-throughput operation, while facing the scarcity issues of Pt-group metals. Achieving high-efficiency alkaline water electrolyzer operating at large current densities remains a critical challenge. Here the authors report Ru nanoparticle-perturbed Cu nanoplatelets as cathode for hydrogen evolution reaction coupled with stainless steel anode in alkaline electrolyzer with high performance, long-term stability and relatively low-capital expenditures.
- Subjects
COPPER; ELECTROLYTIC cells; IRON-nickel alloys; CATHODES; STAINLESS steel; NANOPARTICLES; HYDROGEN evolution reactions
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2023, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-40319-5