Enhancement of durability of the photoelectrode for green hydrogen production using biomimetic hydrogel technology

A research team led by Professor Hyungsuk Lee in School of Mechanical Engineering developed a hydrogel protection layer that can dramatically increase the operation time of the photoelectrode, which produces hydrogen with water and light, by preventing the structural damage of the electrode through the joint research with the research group of Professor Jooho Moon in Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Photoelectrodes have a limited operation duration due to the detachment of surface catalyst and surface dissolution during their operation. Inspired by the fact that 'hydrogel' on the epidermal layer inhibits cell damage of 'marine plants' which perform photosynthesis in the harsh environment in the sea, the research team proposed the idea of coating the surface of a photoelectrode driven in water by the biomimetic hydrogel. In particular, by analyzing the physical interaction between the hydrogen bubbles generated at the photoelectrode and the protection layer through theoretical/numerical analysis and experiments, the research team found an optimal condition to minimize the mechanical damage to the protection layer by the bubbles.
This study was published in ‘Nature Energy’ (Impact Factor 67.439, Percentile rank 0.420%), a journal publishing the best research on energy, on 9th June.

The link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01042-5