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Hussain Aqeel 1 , Olli Pakkanen 2 , Olli Sorsa 2 , Tanja Kallio 2 , Esko Kauppinen 1 and Kari Laasonen 2 1) Department of Applied Physics, Nanomaterial Group, P.O. Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto 2) Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Aalto Sustainable platinum group metal free catalyst materials, SUPER Introduction Storing energy is becoming an increasing problem as we are gradually shifting from fossil fuels towards renewable energy. However, renewable energy often provides an intermittent source of electricity. In order to provide electricity consistently, energy must be stored. One method is hydrogen evolution in an electrolyzer by electrocatalytic water splitting. Chemical energy in hydrogen can be converted back to electricity in a fuel cell. Current catalysts are expensive platinum group metals which are considered as critical raw materials. The focus of this project is to design and synthesize platinum group free electrocatalyst for these applications. SCEIN SWCNT Carbon nanotubes Catalyst synthesis Fuel cell • A power source which has high energy efficiency and scalability • Commercial catalyst Pt/C has insufficient durability and too high cost for commercialization • Inverse reactions for power storage (electrolyzer) Previous results a) the same activity for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction as platinum b) the same reaction kinetics as platinum c) good durability vs. cycling d) good durability vs. time Tavakkoli M., Kallio T., Reynaud O., Nasibulin A.G., Johans C., Sainio J., Jing H., Kauppinen E.I., Laasonen K., Angew. Chem., 127 (2015) 4618-4621 Computational research • The main method for calculations is Density functional theory (DFT) • Computational methods can be used to study • reaction barriers of different reaction mechanisms on different surfaces • the reasons for catalytic activities • Good electrical conductivity • High chemical and mechanical stability • CNTs can be functionalized to make them active for different electrochemical reactions • Functionalizations can be nitrogen, sulphur and phosphor doping • Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are synthesized in a vertical floating catalyst reactor • Catalyst Nanoparticles (NPs) are generated in the reactor from decomposition of organometallic compounds at high temperature • The Carbon Nanotubes grow on NPs from hydrocarbons • The product is collected on a filter
