Evaluation Of Carbon Based Catalysts For Water Electrolysis And Co2 Electro-Reduction

Andrew Re

School Name

South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Engineering

Presentation Type

Mentored

Mentor

Mentor: Xiao-Dong Zhou, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina

Written Paper Award

3rd Place

Abstract

With the decrease in supply of nonrenewable resources, water electrolysis and CO2 Electro-reduction have recently received attention as means of converting renewable energy into storable products. Platinum, the most commonly used catalyst for these reactions, has become too rare to use on a large scale. Previous studies have shown that carbon based materials may provide a viable alternative catalyst. This research focused on testing the activity of Ti2AlC, carbon black, and ketjen black towards both water electrolysis and CO2 reduction in hopes of discovering a potential alternative. Electrodes were constructed of each material and placed in a cell with an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Using cyclic voltammetry, the current through the cell was measured against the potential. The current through the cell indicates the amount of reduction or oxidation taking place within the cell at a given potential. The CO2 reduction experiment was conducted similarly to water electrolysis except in the presence of CO2. The results of these experiments concluded that ketjen black is the best contender of the materials tested for water electrolysis. Ti2AlC was the only material to show any slight activity towards CO2 reduction. The products of CO2 reduction could be better described through further experimentation using gas chromatography. Future studies in water electrolysis should focus on testing more possible materials or combining ketjen black with nonprecious materials to improve catalytic activity. In CO2 reduction, more titanium carbide materials should be tested as well to find an even more active catalyst.

Start Date

4-11-2015 11:45 AM

End Date

4-11-2015 12:00 PM

COinS
 
Apr 11th, 11:45 AM Apr 11th, 12:00 PM

Evaluation Of Carbon Based Catalysts For Water Electrolysis And Co2 Electro-Reduction

With the decrease in supply of nonrenewable resources, water electrolysis and CO2 Electro-reduction have recently received attention as means of converting renewable energy into storable products. Platinum, the most commonly used catalyst for these reactions, has become too rare to use on a large scale. Previous studies have shown that carbon based materials may provide a viable alternative catalyst. This research focused on testing the activity of Ti2AlC, carbon black, and ketjen black towards both water electrolysis and CO2 reduction in hopes of discovering a potential alternative. Electrodes were constructed of each material and placed in a cell with an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Using cyclic voltammetry, the current through the cell was measured against the potential. The current through the cell indicates the amount of reduction or oxidation taking place within the cell at a given potential. The CO2 reduction experiment was conducted similarly to water electrolysis except in the presence of CO2. The results of these experiments concluded that ketjen black is the best contender of the materials tested for water electrolysis. Ti2AlC was the only material to show any slight activity towards CO2 reduction. The products of CO2 reduction could be better described through further experimentation using gas chromatography. Future studies in water electrolysis should focus on testing more possible materials or combining ketjen black with nonprecious materials to improve catalytic activity. In CO2 reduction, more titanium carbide materials should be tested as well to find an even more active catalyst.