Electrocatalysts comprising transition metals and chalcogen for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and manufacturing thereof
AssigneesThe Governing Council of the University of Toronto, Totalenergies Onetech
InventorsJehad Abed, Steven Thorpe, Edward Sargent
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Abstract
The present description relates to metal alloy electrocatalysts, preferably composed of Ni and Co as transition metals and Se as a chalcogen. The electrocatalysts can take the form of nanochalcogenides that can be made using cryogenic milling followed by surfactant-assistant milling. The electrocatalysts can be used in the context of water electrolysis or electroreduction of CO2 gas into carbon based products.
Claims22
A process for producing a nanochalcogenide for use in electrocatalysis, comprising:
- subjecting at least two transition metals and at least one chalcogen to cryogenic milling to produce an alloyed chalcogenide material;
- subjecting the alloyed chalcogenide material to surfactant-assisted milling to produce a slurry comprising a nanochalcogenide;
- and
- separating the nanochalcogenide from the slurry,
- wherein the surfactant-assisted milling comprises surfactant-assisted ball milling performed in the presence of at least one surfactant and a solvent;
- and
- wherein the solvent comprises an alcohol and the least one surfactant comprises diphenylphosphoryl acid (DPPA), or oleic acid, or CTAB surfactant.
A process for producing a nanochalcogenide for use in electrocatalysis, comprising:
- subjecting at least two transition metals and at least one chalcogen to a first milling stage to produce an alloyed chalcogenide material having an average particle size above 1 micrometer and a disordered structure including amorphous and nanocrystalline structures;
- subjecting the alloyed chalcogenide material to a second milling stage to produce a slurry comprising nanochalcogenides having a particle size below 100 nm, measured using DLS or SEM;
- and
- separating the nanochalcogenides from the slurry,
- wherein:
- the second milling stage comprises surfactant-assisted milling that comprises surfactant-assisted ball milling performed in the presence of at least one surfactant and a solvent;
- and the solvent comprises an alcohol and the least one surfactant comprises diphenylphosphoryl acid (DPPA), or oleic acid, or CTAB surfactant;
- the second milling stage comprises surfactant-assisted milling that comprises surfactant-assisted ball milling performed in the presence of at least one surfactant and a solvent;
- and wherein the surfactant-assisted milling is performed at a ball-to-powder ratio (BPR) of 30:1 to 70:1 on a mass basis;
- or
- the first milling stage comprises cryogenic ball milling and wherein:
- the cryogenic ball milling comprises linear vibrational milling performed at speeds of 25 Hz to 35 Hz, or the cryogenic ball milling is performed at a ball-to-powder ratio (BPR) of 8:1 to 12:1 on a mass basis.
A process for producing a nanochalcogenide for use in electrocatalysis, comprising:
- subjecting at least two transition metals and at least one chalcogen to cryogenic milling to produce an alloyed chalcogenide material;
- subjecting the alloyed chalcogenide material to surfactant-assisted milling to produce a slurry comprising a nanochalcogenide;
- and
- separating the nanochalcogenide from the slurry;
- wherein the surfactant-assisted milling comprises surfactant-assisted ball milling performed in the presence of at least one surfactant and a solvent;
- and wherein the surfactant-assisted milling is performed at a ball-to-powder ratio (BPR) of 30:1 to 70:1 on a mass basis.
A process for producing a nanochalcogenide for use in electrocatalysis, comprising:
- subjecting at least two transition metals and at least one chalcogen to cryogenic milling to produce an alloyed chalcogenide material;
- subjecting the alloyed chalcogenide material to surfactant-assisted milling to produce a slurry comprising a nanochalcogenide;
- and
- separating the nanochalcogenide from the slurry;
- wherein the cryogenic milling comprises cryogenic ball milling;
- and
- wherein:
- the cryogenic milling comprises linear vibrational milling performed at speeds of 25 Hz to 35 Hz;
- or
- the cryogenic ball milling is performed at a ball-to-powder ratio (BPR) of 8:1 to 12:1 on a mass basis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.