The catalyst can accelerate the chemical reaction, but the metal platinum widely used in the catalyst is not only very rare but also very expensive. Therefore, researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU / e) in the Netherlands collaborated with researchers in China, Singapore, and Japan to develop a 20-fold more active alternative: a nickel and Hollow nano catalyst made of platinum alloy. Researcher Emiel Hensen of Eindhoven University of Technology hopes to use the new catalyst to develop an approximately 10 MW, refrigerator-sized electrolytic cell in the future.
By 2050, the Dutch government hopes to use sustainable energy sources such as solar or wind energy to meet the country's energy needs. Because such energy sources are not available at all times, it is important to be able to store such renewable energy sources. Due to the low energy density of the battery, it is not suitable for storing large amounts of energy. A better solution is to use chemical bonds, and hydrogen is the best gas chemical bond. Using water, the electrolysis cell will convert (excess) electrical energy into storable hydrogen. Fuel cells, on the other hand, convert stored hydrogen into electricity, but both technologies require catalysts to drive them.
Because of its high activity, the catalyst can help with conversion and is mostly composed of platinum. However, platinum metal is very expensive and relatively scarce. If you want to use electrolytic cells and fuel cells on a large scale, it will be an obstacle. TU / e Professor of Catalysis Emiel Hensen said: "Therefore, Chinese researchers have developed a platinum-nickel alloy that can reduce the cost of the catalyst and increase the activity." The effective activity of the effective catalyst can be reduced every second. More water molecules are converted into hydrogen.
Successfully tested in fuel cell
In addition to choosing other metals, researchers can also make major changes to the morphology. The atoms in the catalyst must be bonded to water and / or oxygen molecules before they can be converted. Therefore, the more bonding points, the higher the activity. Hensen said: "It is necessary to create the largest possible metal surface area so that the hollow nanomaterials developed can enter both from the inside and the outside, creating the largest surface area so that more materials can react at the same time." In addition, Hensen Quantum chemistry technology is also used to prove that the specific surface structure of nanomaterials further increases the activity of the catalyst.
After calculations in Hensen's model, it was found that the catalyst supported by the platinum-nickel alloy was 20 times more active than the current platinum catalyst. The researchers also found the same result in the fuel cell experiment. "A lot of criticisms of basic research say that this kind of research is done in the laboratory. When it is applied to real equipment, it is often invalid. However, we have already Prove that this new type of catalyst has practical application value. "
The catalyst must be stable so that it can work in a hydrogen-powered car or a house for several years. Therefore, the researchers conducted 50,000 cycles of testing the catalyst in a fuel cell and found that its activity hardly declined.
This new type of catalyst has a very wide range of applications. It can be used for both fuel cells and reverse reactions in electrolytic cells. For example, fuel cells can be used in hydrogen-powered vehicles, and some hospitals have also used hydrogen fuel cells to power emergency generators. The electrolytic cell can be used in offshore wind farms and even wind turbines. Transporting hydrogen is much cheaper than transporting electricity.
Hensen`s dream is bigger, he said: “I hope we can install the electrolytic cell in every block. This refrigerator-sized device can store all the energy in the form of hydrogen from solar panels on the nearby roof during the day. In the future, underground natural gas pipelines can transport hydrogen, and domestic centralized heating boilers will be replaced by fuel cells, and fuel cells can convert stored hydrogen into electrical energy, making full use of solar energy. "
However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary to vigorously develop electrolytic cells. Together with other TU / e researchers and industrial partners in the Brabant region, Hensen participated in the work of the Energy Research Institute of the Eindhoven University of Technology, with the goal of turning the existing commercial electrolyzer into a refrigerator-sized electrolyzer with a capacity of 10 Megawatt.