South Korean researchers overcome poor catalyst performance for green hydrogen

In South Korea, electrochemical catalysts used in water splitting often show poor performance due to low electrical conductance of (oxy)hydroxide species produced in situ. To overcome this challenge, researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea have now designed an electrode with Schottky Junction formed at the interface of metallic Ni-W5N4 and semiconducting NiFeOOH. The proposed electrode shows excellent catalytic activity and can facilitate industrial seawater splitting continuously for 10 days.

The researchers designed an electrolyzer using their Schottky junction electrode for

industrial seawater electrolysis. They found that the new device could operate continuously for 10 days, while also exhibiting outstanding catalytic activity and durability during electrolysis. It showed a remarkable current density of 100 mA/cm2 at an overpotential of just 230 mV.

Overall, the researchers believe that these findings can contribute toward a sustainable strategy for hydrogen production to eventually replace conventional methods that still rely on fossil fuels.