新型催化劑主要由更便宜的鈷制成，取代質(zhì)子交換膜(PEM)電解槽中昂貴的銥

致力于電解槽和燃料電池商業(yè)化的領(lǐng)先研發(fā)公司Giner公司在工業(yè)條件下測(cè)試了這種新型催化劑，注意到其優(yōu)越的性能和耐用性

這一創(chuàng)新支持了美國(guó)能源部的“氫能地球Earthshot”計(jì)劃，旨在大幅降低綠色氫氣生產(chǎn)成本

中國(guó)石化新聞網(wǎng)訊 據(jù)油價(jià)網(wǎng)2023年8月16日?qǐng)?bào)道，能源和環(huán)境科學(xué)領(lǐng)域頂尖研究中心美國(guó)阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室（ANL）的一個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)日前開發(fā)出了一種由地球上豐富元素組成的新型催化劑。它可以使低成本和節(jié)能的氫氣生產(chǎn)成為可能，用于運(yùn)輸和工業(yè)應(yīng)用。

由美國(guó)能源部阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一個(gè)由多機(jī)構(gòu)組成的團(tuán)隊(duì)日前開發(fā)出了一種低成本的催化劑，用于從水中產(chǎn)生清潔氫氣的過程。其他貢獻(xiàn)者包括美國(guó)能源部的桑迪亞國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室和勞倫斯伯克利國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室，以及Giner公司。

研究結(jié)果日前發(fā)表在《科學(xué)》雜志上。

阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室高級(jí)化學(xué)家劉迪佳（音譯）說：“一種從水中產(chǎn)生氫氣和氧氣的電解過程已經(jīng)存在了一個(gè)多世紀(jì)?！边@位高級(jí)化學(xué)家芝加哥大學(xué)普利茲克分子工程學(xué)院擔(dān)任聯(lián)合研究員。

質(zhì)子交換膜(PEM)電解槽代表了這一過程的新一代技術(shù)。它們能在接近室溫的條件下以更高的效率將水分解成氫氣和氧氣。減少的能源需求使它們成為使用可再生但間歇性的能源(如太陽(yáng)能和風(fēng)能)生產(chǎn)清潔氫氣的理想選擇。

這種電解槽的每個(gè)電極(陰極和陽(yáng)極)都有單獨(dú)的催化劑。陰極催化劑生成氫氣，而陽(yáng)極催化劑生成氧氣。問題是陽(yáng)極催化劑使用銥，目前的市場(chǎng)價(jià)格約為每盎司5000美元。銥的供應(yīng)不足和高成本是PEM電解槽廣泛采用的主要障礙。

而新催化劑的主要成分是鈷，它比銥便宜得多。劉迪佳說：“我們?cè)噲D在PEM電解槽中開發(fā)一種低成本的陽(yáng)極催化劑，以高通量產(chǎn)生氫氣，同時(shí)消耗最少的能量?！薄巴ㄟ^使用我們的方法制備的鈷基催化劑，可以消除在電解槽中生產(chǎn)清潔氫氣的主要成本瓶頸?！?/p>

Giner公司是一家致力于電解槽和燃料電池商業(yè)化的領(lǐng)先研發(fā)公司，在工業(yè)操作條件下使用其PEM電解槽試驗(yàn)站對(duì)新型催化劑進(jìn)行了評(píng)估。性能和耐用性遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的催化劑。

了解電解槽操作條件下原子尺度上的反應(yīng)機(jī)理對(duì)進(jìn)一步提高催化劑性能具有重要意義。該團(tuán)隊(duì)通過使用阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室先進(jìn)光子源(APS)的X射線分析，破譯了催化劑在操作條件下發(fā)生的關(guān)鍵結(jié)構(gòu)變化。他們還在桑迪亞實(shí)驗(yàn)室和阿貢納米材料中心(CNM)使用電子顯微鏡鑒定了催化劑的關(guān)鍵特征。 APS和CNM都是美國(guó)能源部科學(xué)辦公室的用戶設(shè)施。

阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室材料科學(xué)家文建國(guó)（音譯）說：“我們?cè)谥苽涞母鱾€(gè)階段對(duì)新催化劑表面的原子結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行了成像?！?/p>

此外，伯克利實(shí)驗(yàn)室的計(jì)算模型揭示了這種新型催化劑在反應(yīng)條件下的耐久性的重要論述。

這個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)的成就意味著美國(guó)能源部的“氫能地球”計(jì)劃向前邁出重要一步，該計(jì)劃模仿了20世紀(jì)60年代美國(guó)太空計(jì)劃的“月球計(jì)劃”。其雄心勃勃的目標(biāo)是在十年內(nèi)將綠色氫氣生產(chǎn)的成本降低到每公斤1美元。以這種成本生產(chǎn)綠色氫氣可能會(huì)重塑美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)。應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域包括電網(wǎng)、制造業(yè)、交通運(yùn)輸以及住宅和商業(yè)供暖。

劉迪佳說：“更一般地說，我們的研究結(jié)果為用更便宜、更豐富的元素取代昂貴的貴金屬催化劑開辟了一條有前途的道路。”

除劉迪佳外，阿貢國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室的作者還有鐘麗娜(現(xiàn)就職于上海交通大學(xué))、文建國(guó)、徐海平、杰里米·克魯普夫、徐文茜和林曉敏。伯克利實(shí)驗(yàn)室的作者包括高國(guó)平、李海霞和王玲旺。來自桑迪亞實(shí)驗(yàn)室的作者是Joshua D. Sugar。撰稿人是Zach Green和徐輝（音譯）來自Giner公司。

李峻 譯自 油價(jià)網(wǎng)

原文如下：

Cost-Effective Catalyst To Supercharge Green Hydrogen Production

·     The catalyst, primarily made of cheaper cobalt, replaces costly iridium in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.

·     Giner Inc. tested the catalyst under industrial conditions, noting its superior performance and durability.

·     This innovation supports the DOE's Hydrogen Energy Earthshot initiative, aiming to drastically reduce green hydrogen production costs.

An Argonne National Laboratory team has developed a new catalyst composed of elements abundant in the Earth. It could make possible the low-cost and energy-efficient production of hydrogen for use in transportation and industrial applications.

A multi-institutional team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has developed a low-cost catalyst for a process that yields clean hydrogen from water. Other contributors include DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as Giner Inc.

The results outlining research have been published in Science.

“A process called electrolysis produces hydrogen and oxygen from water and has been around for more than a century,” said Di-Jia Liu, senior chemist at Argonne. He also holds a joint appointment in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers represent a new generation of technology for this process. They can split water into hydrogen and oxygen with higher efficiency at near room temperature. The reduced energy demand makes them an ideal choice for producing clean hydrogen by using renewable but intermittent sources, such as solar and wind.

This electrolyzer runs with separate catalysts for each of its electrodes (cathode and anode). The cathode catalyst yields hydrogen, while the anode catalyst forms oxygen. A problem is that the anode catalyst uses iridium, which has a current market price of around $5,000 per ounce. The lack of supply and high cost of iridium pose a major barrier for widespread adoption of PEM electrolyzers.

The main ingredient in the new catalyst is cobalt, which is substantially cheaper than iridium. “We sought to develop a low-cost anode catalyst in a PEM electrolyzer that generates hydrogen at high throughput while consuming minimal energy,” Liu said. “By using the cobalt-based catalyst prepared by our method, one could remove the main bottleneck of cost to producing clean hydrogen in an electrolyzer.”

Giner Inc., a leading research and development company working toward commercialization of electrolyzers and fuel cells, evaluated the new catalyst using its PEM electrolyzer test stations under industrial operating conditions. The performance and durability far exceeded that of competitors’ catalysts.

Important to further advancing the catalyst performance is understanding the reaction mechanism at the atomic scale under electrolyzer operating conditions. The team deciphered critical structural changes that occur in the catalyst under operating conditions by using X-ray analyses at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne. They also identified key catalyst features using electron microscopy at Sandia Labs and at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM). The APS and CNM are both DOE Office of Science user facilities.

“We imaged the atomic structure on the surface of the new catalyst at various stages of preparation,” said Jianguo Wen, an Argonne materials scientist.

In addition, computational modeling at Berkeley Lab revealed important insights into the catalyst’s durability under reaction conditions.

The team’s achievement is a step forward in DOE’s Hydrogen Energy Earthshot initiative, which mimics the U.S. space program’s “Moon Shot” of the 1960s. Its ambitious goal is to lower the cost for green hydrogen production to one dollar per kilogram in a decade. Production of green hydrogen at that cost could reshape the nation’s economy. Applications include the electric grid, manufacturing, transportation and residential and commercial heating.

“More generally, our results establish a promising path forward in replacing catalysts made from expensive precious metals with elements that are much less expensive and more abundant,” Liu noted.

In addition to Liu, Argonne authors are Lina Chong (now at Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Jianguo Wen, Haiping Xu, A. Jeremy Kropf, Wenqian Xu and Xiao-Min Lin. Authors from Berkeley Lab include Guoping Gao, Haixia Li and Ling-Wang Wang. The author from Sandia Labs is Joshua D. Sugar. Contributors Zach Green and Hui Xu are from Giner Inc.