Loading...

Fabrication of Nano-Structure Electrocatalysts for Use in Water Splitting Process

Maghool, Sina | 2024

9 Viewed
  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 56891 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Ghotbi, Siroos; Khorasheh, Farhad; Asgharinezhad, Ali Akbar; Larimi, Afsaneh Sadat
  7. Abstract:
  8. The global energy outlook has been altered as a result of mounting concerns regarding fossil fuels. Electrocatalysts have become a favorable alternative for renewable energy production processes, particularly in the fields of hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER). This study focuses on the production and enhancement of nanocatalysts, specifically materials based on ZIF-67, for the purpose of water splitting. The initial phase included the synthesis of the ZIF-67 structure through the simple room-temperature coprecipitation process, utilizing cerium as a dual-metal component. The molarity of the cerium was optimized in the ZIF-67 framework to achieve the most desirable electrochemical performance. The Ce(5%)ZIF-67 exhibited superior performance compared to other materials. After that, oxidation, phosphidation, and sulfidation reactions were performed on Ce(5%)ZIF-67. This made three different electrocatalysts, which were named (5%)CeCoO, (5%)CeCoP, and (5%)CeCoS. Structural analyses were conducted to clarify the synthesized structures. These analyses included X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (5%)CeCoP and (5%)CeCoS exhibited outstanding performance in electrochemical analysis. During the OER process, (5%)CeCoP exhibited an overpotential of 255 mV at current density of 20 mA cm-2. Furthermore, (5%)CeCoS showed an overpotential of 291 mV at current density of 100 mA cm-2. (5%)CeCoP and (5%)CeCoS exhibited enhanced capabilities as electrocatalysts in the HER process, with overpotentials of 220 and 212 mV at current density of 10 mA cm-2, respectively. Furthermore, two electrodes, (5%)CeCoP and (5%)CeCoS, exhibited Tafel slopes of 74.4 mV/dec and 67.2 mV/dec in the OER process, and values of 88.1 mV/dec and 81.7 mV/dec in the HER process, emphasizing their efficiency as electrocatalysts for both reactions
  9. Keywords:
  10. Water Splitting ; Zeolite Imidazolate Framework ; Sulfide ; Transition Metal Phosphide ; Transition Metal Oxides ; Hydrogen Evolution Reaction ; Oxygen Evolution

 Digital Object List

 Bookmark

No TOC