IIT Mandi researchers have created a unique carbon-based catalyst to improve the efficiency of water electrolysis. Water electrolysis is the preferred method for producing “green hydrogen,” making it increasingly significant. This invention has the potential to transform the production of green hydrogen in India and make it more efficient paving the way for the increased use of renewable energy sources and reducing the country’s carbon footprint. In this article, you can learn more about this unique innovation for the IAS exam science and technology segment.
IIT Mandi’s Novel Catalyst to Make Hydrogen More Viable
The study describes a porous carbon material containing nitrogen that acts as both a catalyst and an anode in electrolyzer units – and could eventually replace metal-based catalysts.
- This material, known as ‘laser carbon,’ was created by exposing a sheet of a polymer called polyimide to a laser beam, which carbonised the exposed parts while leaving the remainder rich in nitrogen.
About water electrolysis:
- In water electrolysis, water molecules are split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity inside a device called an electrolyser. However, this process consumes a lot of electrical energy.
How does laser carbon work?
- The nitrogen atoms in laser carbon attract electron clouds, causing surrounding carbon atoms to bond with atoms or molecules carrying electron pairs.
- As a result, the positions of these atoms become active sites for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
- Because it moves slowly and with numerous intermediate steps, OER is a bottleneck in this ideal reaction process, decreasing total reaction efficiency.
- Laser carbon offers a solution to this problem by lowering the OER overpotential, which causes the reaction to start sooner and with greater vigour.
Advantages of Laser Carbon
- Laser carbon is “highly power efficient,” less expensive to create, has a simpler synthesis technique, and “can be batch-manufactured with a laser.”
- The production method is also environmentally benign because no waste is generated and no wet chemicals must be disposed of.
- It also does not require a substrate because it is self-supported in the form of a film that serves as both an electrode and an electrocatalyst.
Electrolysis is a promising option for carbon-free hydrogen production from renewable and nuclear resources. Electrolysis is the process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This reaction takes place in a unit called an electrolyzer.
How Does it Work?
An anode and a cathode are separated by an electrolyte in an electrolyzer. Various electrolyzers work in different ways, owing to the various electrolyte materials used and the ionic species they conduct.
Example: Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Electrolyzers
- In a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, the electrolyte is a solid specialty plastic material.
- Water reacts at the anode to form oxygen and positively charged hydrogen ions (protons).
- The electrons flow through an external circuit and the hydrogen ions selectively move across the PEM to the cathode.
- At the cathode, hydrogen ions combine with electrons from the external circuit to form hydrogen gas. Anode Reaction: 2H2O → O2 + 4H+ + 4e– Cathode Reaction: 4H+ + 4e– → 2H2
- The lightest and first element on the periodic table is hydrogen. Because hydrogen has a lower density than air, it rises in the atmosphere and is hence rarely found in its pure form, H2.
- Hydrogen is a non-toxic, nonmetallic, odourless, tasteless, colourless, and highly flammable diatomic gas at ordinary temperature and pressure.
- Hydrogen fuel is an oxygen-burning, zero-emission fuel. It is suitable for use in fuel cells and internal combustion engines. It is also used as a propulsion fuel for spaceships.
- It has the potential to substitute conventional fuels and reduce CO2-related emissions significantly at the point of use.
- Further, if green hydrogen is used as fuel, then there is the capability to decarbonize the entire value chain, enabling reduced emissions and climate change threats.
Hydrogen energy initiatives in India
- Because of its favourable geographical conditions and abundance of natural materials, India is already interested in building a hydrogen economy.
- India has announced a National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) and National Green Hydrogen Mission to develop a roadmap for utilising hydrogen as a source of energy.
- India is a member of the ‘Hydrogen Valley Platform,’ which aims to build an integrated hydrogen ecosystem that encompasses production, storage, distribution, and end-use.
- In 2016, MNRE produced a study outlining a detailed plan for expanding R&D activity.
ChallengesÂ
- One of the enormous obstacles that the industry faces in commercialising hydrogen is the economic sustainability of harvesting green or blue hydrogen.
- The technology employed in the production and use of hydrogen, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen fuel cell technology, is in its early stages and is expensive, which raises the cost of hydrogen production.
- The commercial use of hydrogen as a fuel and in industries necessitates massive investments in R&D and infrastructure for hydrogen generation, storage, transportation, and demand development.
Novel Catalyst offers to make Hydrogen more Viable:- Download PDF Here
| Related Links | |||
| Green Hydrogen Policy 2022 | National Hydrogen Mission | ||
| National Green Hydrogen Mobility Project | Green Hydrogen | ||
| Lithium-ion batteries | UPSC 2023 Calendar | ||
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