Kookmin University team develops catalyst for efficient hydrogen production

A research team at Kookmin University has developed a heterostructured catalyst that efficiently promotes hydrogen production in alkaline water electrolysis, the school said Monday. The team, led by professor Lee Chan-woo of the Department of Chemistry, has successfully identified a mechanism enabling the catalyst to accelerate water-splitting, according to the university. The team uniformly deposited ruthenium oxide nanoparticles approximately 2 nanometers in size onto 25-nanometer titania supports, creating a heterointerface that rapidly facilitates the water dissociation reaction. The school noted that anion exchange membrane water electrolysis has attracted attention as a next-generation hydrogen production technology because it operates under alkaline conditions, reducing dependence on expensive platinum-group catalysts and corrosion-resistant components. However, under alkaline conditions, the initial step of breaking the oxygen-hydrogen bond in water molecules to form hydrogen intermediates proceeds slowly, resulting in high overpotential for the hydrogen evolution reaction and re

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