Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) have developed a catalyst that helps extract hydrogen from water in a more efficient manner.

CeNS is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

“Developing efficient means of splitting water to produce hydrogen and obtaining the energy required for it from solar energy would be a significant part of the sustainable and green solutions for our energy needs,” said Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

The novel catalyst that the researchers developed is a coordination polymer — a polymer in which metal atoms are arranged in a manner that it has a large surface area to promote catalytic efficiency — consisting of palladium Pd(II) ions, that serve as a source of active sites for hydrogen adsorption.

It also has benzene tetramine (BTA) as chelating ligands, which ensure better charge transfer. The two combine to form two-dimensional (2D) sheets of Pd(BTA) through the H-bond interactions. The research has been published in the journal ‘ACS Applied Energy Materials’.

The catalyst developed by CeNS labeled as [Pd(BTA)-rGO]red exhibited better cell’s voltage efficiency and high durability.

A combination of high activity due to Pd nanoparticles, less charge transfer resistance of rGO, and stability rendered by encapsulation of Pd nanoparticles by 2D sheets work in favoru of the high efficiency and durability of the composite material.

The researchers also state that “this technique of organic ligand encapsulation of metals/metal ions on conducting platform can be adopted for other metal-based electrocatalysts to attain exceptional long term catalytic stability”.

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