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A research group led by Prof. Chen Liang at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has designed a high-entropy electrocatalyst that achieves efficient production of hydrogen and valuable glycerol chemicals. The study was in Nature Nanotechnology.

Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier and industrial gas with a wide range of applications. Electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen has emerged as a cost-effective and sustainable solution for energy conversion and storage. However, the low activity and high overpotential of oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) at the anode result in inefficient energy conversion and increased operational costs, which limits the commercial viability of water electrolysis for hydrogen production.

To address this challenge, the researchers developed and synthesized a high-entropy nanostructured PtCuCoNiMn catalyst.

Glycerate, a valuable chemical product, can be generated from glycerol through a cascade electro-oxidation reaction. Compared to traditional OERs, this electro-oxidation reaction is more energy efficient. Analysis revealed that the introduction of Cu, Pt, Co, Mn, and Ni enhances both the activity and selectivity for glycerate production. Under high current densities of 200 mA cm^−2, the developed catalyst showed an exceptional selectivity of 75.2%, demonstrating excellent performance in electro-oxidation reactions.

When applied in an electrolyzer, the catalyst exhibited remarkable stability, successfully maintaining high-performance glycerol electro-oxidation reactions for more than 210 hours.

This study presents a sustainable and efficient approach to producing green hydrogen while simultaneously synthesizing high-value chemicals through electrocatalysis. It represents a step toward achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.