SusChEM: Tunable Molecular Mimics for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

In this project funded by the Chemical Catalysis program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Yiying Wu of the Ohio State University is developing molecular catalysts for hydrogen production. Developing robust and non-precious metal catalysts as alternatives to expensive and rare platinum is critical for splitting water into its elements - hydrogen and oxygen - using the energy of the sun. Water splitting allows energy from the sun to be stored in chemical form. When these elements are recombined to form water, energy is released. To meet the challenge of splitting water efficiently, new benign synthetic methods are developed to form new catalysts based on earth abundant elements. The new catalysts are also useful in understanding and mimicking some biological enzymes. This project has societal impact on sustainable energy generation, storage, and chemical processes. The broader impact of this research comprises educational components, community outreach and engagement, along with undergraduate student mentorship. In conjunction with the Research Experiences to Enhance Learning efforts at OSU, one of the educational components is to create an authentic research experiment for the undergraduate Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory based on the synthesis and homogeneous electrocatalysis. This project focuses on new environmentally benign catalysts based on molecular and polymeric complexes of molybdenum sulfide (MoS2)- specifically mimicking the MoS2 edge sites for electrocatalytic hydrogen production. Various catalyst structures are being synthesized and examined. The catalytic mechanism is probed by combining experimental methods such as synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy with computational efforts such as density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This systematic and synergistic synthetic and mechanistic study may shed light on the relationship between the structures of the molecular catalysts and their electrocatalytic activities. The mechanistic knowledge also provides insight into the functions of bulk MoS2 and biological enzymes.