Samuel, A. K., Faqeeh, A. H., Li, W., Ertekin, Z. , Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Gadegaard, N. , Moran, D. A.J. , Symes, M. D. and Ganin, A. Y. (2024) Assessing challenges of 2D-molybdenum ditelluride for efficient hydrogen generation in a full-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 12(3), pp. 1276-1285. (doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c06616)
![[img]](https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
315804.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 4MB |
|
Text
315804Suppl.pdf - Supplemental Material 7MB |
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers are critical enablers for sustainable green hydrogen production due to their high efficiency. However, nonplatinum catalysts are rarely evaluated under actual electrolyzer operating conditions, limiting knowledge of their feasibility for H2 production at scale. In this work, metallic 1T′-MoTe2 films were synthesized on carbon cloth supports via chemical vapor deposition and tested as cathodes in PEM electrolysis. Initial three-electrode tests revealed that at 100 mA cm–2, the overpotential of 1T′-MoTe2 approached that of leading 1T′-MoS2 systems, confirming its promise as a hydrogen evolution catalyst. However, when tested in a full-scale PEM electrolyzer, 1T′-MoTe2 delivered only 150 mA cm–2 at 2 V, far below expectations. Postelectrolysis analysis revealed an unexpected passivating tellurium layer, likely inhibiting catalytic sites. While initially promising, the unanticipated passivation caused 1T′-MoTe2 to underperform in practice. This highlights the critical need to evaluate emerging electrolyzer catalysts in PEM electrolyzers, revealing limitations of the idealized three-electrode configuration. Moving forward, validation of model systems in actual electrolyzers will be key to identifying robust nonplatinum catalysts for sustainable green hydrogen production.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | A.K.S, D.A.J.M, N.G. and A.Y.G acknowledge EPSRC (EP/W03333X/1) for supporting this work. A. F. thanks King Khalid University for funding his studies. M.D.S. thanks the Royal Society for a University Research Fellowship (URF\R\211007). |
| Keywords: | Hydrogen production by water splitting, chemical vapor deposition, proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, 2D materials. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Ertekin, Dr Zeliha and Ganin, Dr Alexey and Symes, Professor Mark and Gadegaard, Professor Nikolaj and Faqeeh, Abdulhai and Samuel, Dr Arun Kumar and Zhang, Jingyi and Li, Weihao and Moran, Professor David and Wang, Mr Yuanshen |
| Authors: | Samuel, A. K., Faqeeh, A. H., Li, W., Ertekin, Z., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Gadegaard, N., Moran, D. A.J., Symes, M. D., and Ganin, A. Y. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering |
| Journal Name: | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
| ISSN: | 2168-0485 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2168-0485 |
| Published Online: | 06 January 2024 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2024 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 12(3):1276–1285 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record
Funder and Project Information
Funder and Project Information