The new catalyst has been designed by scientists from the Nano and Cess sciences center (Cens) in Bengalur, which, in addition to the fact that the catalytic reactions related to oxygen are available and environmentally friendly.
According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, electrocatalysis involving oxygen supports numerous pure energy technologies, such as water distribution for hydrogen production, clean fuels and chemical production such as hydrogen peroxide.
However, these technologies usually face challenges, such as slow reaction speeds, high energy requirements and high costs due to limited availability and expenditure on precious metals.
In addition, catalysts used in these processes traditionally rely on expensive precious metals such as platinum or ruthenium, causing processes to be expensive.
CENS researchers have developed a new catalyst that uses nickel selenium reinforced by adding a small amount of iron (Fe), which has the potential not only to significantly reduce costs but also to improve performance.
A team of census scientists began with a special material known as metallic organic framework (MOF), which is porous crystalline structures useful for chemical reactions, but have limited electrical conductivity.
“The electronic structure of the MOF has been modulated by the Doping of Fe to improve catalytic sites. To improve conductivity, scientists have transformed mOF into carbon -rich materials through the heating process known as pyrolysis, which increases their ability to effectively perform electricity,” the department said.
He added that after pyrolysis scientists introduced selenium and created two highly efficient catalysts known as Nixfe1 -xse₂ – nc and ni₃ -xfexse₄ – nc.
“Iron doping has significantly improved the electronic interactions of the catalyst and created more active places for reactions and optimized how the reaction intermediates bind to the catalyst surface. These improvements caused the catalyst exceptionally effective for two key processes: Oxygen reaction oxygen (OER), which produces oxygen and adds oer. IT, IT, IT ”.
Extensive testing of scientists has shown that the catalyst, Nixfe1 -xse₂ – nc@400, has achieved impressive performance
“In the ORR tests for hydrogen peroxide production, this catalyst also exceeded the performance of platinum catalysts in industrial state and provided better reaction speeds and higher efficiency,” he said.
The department stated that a detailed analysis revealed that the doping of iron has changed the electronic structure of the catalyst in a beneficial way, increases active places and facilitates better electron transfer.
Published – June 15, 2025 22:03
