Date/Time
Date(s) - 25/09/2025
1:30 pm - 2:20 pm

Title: Designing Earth-Abundant Bulk and Nano-Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production

Date: Thursday September 25, 2025

Time: 1:30pm

Room: ABB 165

Host: Dr. Yurij Mozharivskyj

Abstract:
Electrolysis of water is a promising clean method for large-scale hydrogen gas production, but its scalability is limited by the high cost and scarcity of noble metal catalysts like platinum (Pt). Non-noble metal catalysts have emerged as effective alternatives for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Our recent research revealed that ?-MoB₂ (AlB₂-type a 2D-like structure) exhibits exceptional HER activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that multiple surfaces of ?-MoB₂ are catalytically active, with the graphene-like B-terminated {001} surface being optimal for H₂ evolution. Both DFT and experimental results confirm that ?-MoB₂ outperforms ?-MoB₂ in HER activity, attributed to its 50% higher content of graphene-like boron layers. Additionally, we discovered an unexpected boron-chain dependency in the V-B system, enabling the prediction of novel HER-active catalysts. Using a recently developed synthesis method, we successfully produced various transition metal borides at the nanoscale, several of which demonstrated excellent HER performance. Furthermore, we identified a lattice parameter-dependent HER activity in ternary AlB₂-type variants, with Cr_0.4Mo_0.6B₂ and, more recently, Mo-vacancy-containing V_0.3Mo_0.7B₂ surpassing Pt/C at industrially relevant current densities. Some of these findings have been detailed in an invited account.

Biography: