Hydrogen is an energy vector and represents one of the most important, sustainable, and clean alternatives to produce zero-emission energy while avoiding fossil fuels. Currently, technologies associated with the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen energy have seen rapid advancements worldwide. Among hydrogen production technologies, water splitting is one of the most interesting ways to obtain pure hydrogen. In this field, alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is a promising method because it combines the benefits of both well-known alkaline electrolysis and proton exchange membrane processes, drawing inspiration from PEM technology. AEMWE consists of two reactions: hydrogen evolution at the cathode and oxygen evolution at the anode. This last reaction has slower kinetics and requires a high overpotential to start. For this reason, it is important to develop electrocatalysts which show better performance to reduce this overpotential. In addition, the scalability of green hydrogen production via AEM electrolysis is severely constrained by the reliance on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), specifically iridium for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Due to the extreme scarcity and high cost of iridium, current research focuses on reducing noble metal loading or developing earth-abundant electrocatalysts that can maintain high stability and catalytic activity. In this study a series of doped lantanium-cobalt based perovskites (ABO3) were synthesised Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) catalysts. LaCoO3, LaCo0.9Zn0.1O3, LaCo0.9Fe0.1O3, LaCo0.9Ni0.1O3, LaCo0.9Cu0.1O3 and LaCo0.9Mn0.1O3 were prepared by a simple sol-gel route where metal nitrates were used as precursors. Precursors were progressively dissolved in ethanol, then citric acid was added to the solution with a 1:1:2 molar ratio of La:Co-Me:CA (Me= Zn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Mn). The solution was heated to 70 °C under continuous stirring overnight, then, the samples were grounded and calcined in air at 1100 °C for 6 hours (heating rate of 5°C/min). All the electrocatalysts were chemical-physical characterised by TGA, XRD, SEM, EDS, to evaluate the thermal process of calcination, cristallographic structure, morphology and composition, while electrochemical properties were assessed by Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) technique. Electrochemical performances of catalysts and a commercial cobaltite were studied by linear and cyclic voltammetry at RDE (glassy carbon, area: 0,196 cm2). An optimal catalytic ink composition and deposition procedure on RDE were defined: the the most stable deposit was reached by using a catalyst/ionomer ratio of 1:0.15. From the linear voltammetry we obtain the onset potential and the overpotential at 10 mA/cm2.
Advanced perovskite-based catalysts for green hydrogen production in AEMWE / Gulino, M., Martino, M., Della Seta, L., Celata, B., Feroci, M., Naticchioni, V.. - (2026). (European PhD Hydrogen Conference Trondheim, Norway ).
Advanced perovskite-based catalysts for green hydrogen production in AEMWE
Miryam Gulino
;Marta Feroci;
2026
Abstract
Hydrogen is an energy vector and represents one of the most important, sustainable, and clean alternatives to produce zero-emission energy while avoiding fossil fuels. Currently, technologies associated with the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen energy have seen rapid advancements worldwide. Among hydrogen production technologies, water splitting is one of the most interesting ways to obtain pure hydrogen. In this field, alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is a promising method because it combines the benefits of both well-known alkaline electrolysis and proton exchange membrane processes, drawing inspiration from PEM technology. AEMWE consists of two reactions: hydrogen evolution at the cathode and oxygen evolution at the anode. This last reaction has slower kinetics and requires a high overpotential to start. For this reason, it is important to develop electrocatalysts which show better performance to reduce this overpotential. In addition, the scalability of green hydrogen production via AEM electrolysis is severely constrained by the reliance on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), specifically iridium for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Due to the extreme scarcity and high cost of iridium, current research focuses on reducing noble metal loading or developing earth-abundant electrocatalysts that can maintain high stability and catalytic activity. In this study a series of doped lantanium-cobalt based perovskites (ABO3) were synthesised Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) catalysts. LaCoO3, LaCo0.9Zn0.1O3, LaCo0.9Fe0.1O3, LaCo0.9Ni0.1O3, LaCo0.9Cu0.1O3 and LaCo0.9Mn0.1O3 were prepared by a simple sol-gel route where metal nitrates were used as precursors. Precursors were progressively dissolved in ethanol, then citric acid was added to the solution with a 1:1:2 molar ratio of La:Co-Me:CA (Me= Zn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Mn). The solution was heated to 70 °C under continuous stirring overnight, then, the samples were grounded and calcined in air at 1100 °C for 6 hours (heating rate of 5°C/min). All the electrocatalysts were chemical-physical characterised by TGA, XRD, SEM, EDS, to evaluate the thermal process of calcination, cristallographic structure, morphology and composition, while electrochemical properties were assessed by Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) technique. Electrochemical performances of catalysts and a commercial cobaltite were studied by linear and cyclic voltammetry at RDE (glassy carbon, area: 0,196 cm2). An optimal catalytic ink composition and deposition procedure on RDE were defined: the the most stable deposit was reached by using a catalyst/ionomer ratio of 1:0.15. From the linear voltammetry we obtain the onset potential and the overpotential at 10 mA/cm2.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
