A research team from the Institute of Materials Chemistry at the Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien) has made a significant breakthrough in the production of clean oxygen . Led by Professor Dominik Eder, the team has developed an innovative hybrid catalyst for electrocatalytic water splitting – a crucial process for the production of clean and sustainable hydrogen .
On the production of clean oxygen
Hydrogen production from water is one of the most promising ways to generate clean energy and this new approach significantly improves the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The team has designed hybrid materials, combining metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with organic and inorganic ligands. This design, which uses zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), allows for a high density of active sites and superior stability under electrocatalytic conditions.
The main challenge in developing water-splitting catalysts is ensuring that the materials maintain their stability over time without losing efficiency. Conventional ZIFs have problems with conductivity and stability in water, limiting their long-term application. However, by combining organic and inorganic ligands, the team has managed to improve the material’s conductivity tenfold, which has increased the reaction rate in electrocatalytic tests.
The most remarkable thing about this breakthrough is that the new hybrid structure not only improves the stability of the catalyst, but also prevents its degradation during the reaction. Through a very thin film of cobalt oxyhydroxide formed on the surface of the ZIF nanoparticles, the catalyst maintains its performance without collapsing, even after prolonged use.
This discovery, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, has significant implications for the production of clean hydrogen and oxygen and opens up new possibilities in the design of materials for catalysis, solar energy conversion and advanced sensing technologies. The TU Wien team is continuing to investigate how to apply this approach to other metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which could transform the way we produce and use clean energy.
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Source and internal photo: TU Wien
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