New Catalyst Maintains Effectiveness for 12 Hours
An international team including researchers from HSE MIEM has developed a catalyst that enables fast and low-cost hydrogen production from water. To achieve this, the scientists synthesised nanoparticles of a complex oxide containing six metals and anchored them onto various substrates. The catalyst supported on reduced graphene layers proved to be nearly three times more efficient than the same oxide without a substrate. This development could significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen production and accelerate the transition to green energy. The study has been published in ACS Applied Energy Materials. The work was carried out under a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
Today, an increasing number of countries are exploring pathways to transition to environmentally sustainable energy sources. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising candidate, as its use does not generate carbon dioxide, which is key to reducing emissions. Hydrogen can be produced through electrolysis—a process that uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. But there’s a catch: the oxygen evolution stage is slow and energy-intensive, which drives up costs and makes hydrogen production less profitable. Speeding things up usually requires catalysts made from rare and expensive metals like platinum or ruthenium.
The authors of the article 'High Entropy (CoFeMnCuNiCr)3O4 Nanoparticles Anchored on Graphene-Based Supports for High-Performance Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysis,' including researchers from HSE University, Kazan Federal University, South Ural State University, the Catalonia Institute of Energy Research (IREC), ICREA (Barcelona), and the University of Tabriz, propose a more affordable and sustainable alternative—high-entropy oxide.
'During the synthesis, we combined several metals—cobalt, iron, manganese, copper, nickel, and chromium—within a single crystal lattice. As a result, numerous active sites formed on the surface where the reaction proceeded more quickly and the structure itself proved more resistant to degradation over time,' comments Dr Ahmad Ostovari Moghaddam, Research Fellow at the HSE MIEM Centre for Quantum Metamaterials.
The researchers synthesised the oxide in the form of nanoparticles and anchored them onto different carbon substrates: graphite, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide. The latter proved to be the most effective, ensuring an even distribution of nanoparticles, preventing them from clumping together, and enhancing electrical conductivity.
The catalyst based on reduced graphene also showed the lowest overpotential—just 290 mV compared to 770 mV for the original material. Overpotential is the difference between the actual and theoretical potentials of a reaction; the lower it is, the more efficient the catalyst and the easier the reaction.
Tests have confirmed that the catalyst remains effective during 12 hours of continuous operation and exhibits good electrical conductivity—a significant achievement for laboratory experiments. The authors suggest that these properties make it a promising candidate for future industrial electrolysers, although more extensive testing will be needed before practical implementation.
'We have demonstrated that combining high-entropy oxides with reduced graphene can overcome the limitations of traditional catalysts. This approach offers high activity, stability, and relative affordability,' comments Andrey Vasenko, Professor at HSE MIEM.
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