A new catalyst has been developed that produces hydrogen from any water at a cost four times cheaper than existing methods and for twice as long, raising expectations that it will contribute to eco-friendly hydrogen production.

The research team led by Vice Research Director Hyoyoung Lee of the Nanostructure Physics Research Group (Director Younghee Lee) at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, President Doyoung Noh) announced on the 22nd that they had developed a single metal atom dimer catalyst that is four times cheaper than existing ones by synthesizing two single atoms.

It is characterized by the ability to produce hydrogen from any type of water and the ability to operate for a longer period of time than before.

This is expected to provide a new direction for hydrogen production methods, as it can produce commercially available, high-purity hydrogen inexpensively in an environmentally friendly manner.

The research team implemented a dimer using inexpensive transition metals, cobalt and nickel, and stably synthesized a single-atom nickel-cobalt dimer structure on a nitrogen-doped carbon support that is available in all water.

The research team found that nickel and cobalt had a lower hydrogen generation effect than when they existed as single atoms, but when the two single atoms were combined in a dimer structure, they had a synergistic effect and produced hydrogen.We found that the mountain effect was maximized.

Other dimers, such as cobalt-manganese and cobalt-iron, were also synthesized using the same method.

The research team confirmed that the single-atom nickel-cobalt dimer electrocatalyst can produce hydrogen at a voltage similar to that of a platinum catalyst.

Furthermore, it was discovered that the single-atom nickel-cobalt dimer can be used for 50 hours without any structural change, compared to conventional platinum catalysts that are only stable for 24 hours.

This study is significant in that it successfully achieved the synthesis of single-atom dimer structures, a long-standing challenge in the field of single atoms.

A new catalyst has been developed, realizing a structure previously only theoretical, while maintaining the advantages of existing precious metal platinum catalysts at a low cost. This catalyst is expected to replace expensive platinum catalysts and contribute to environmentally friendly hydrogen production.
The research team leader said, “Through this research, we have developed an inexpensive, high-efficiency hydrogen production electrolysis catalyst, bringing us one step closer to an eco-friendly, small-scale production economy that does not emit carbon dioxide.”

This study was published online on November 19 in the international academic journal 'Nature Communications (IF 14.919).