Ni alloy/semiconductor composites for green hydrogen production through photoelectrochemical water splitting

• Grant number: 25/00167-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lucia Helena Mascaro Sales
• Grantee: Konrad Eiler
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Química (IQ)
• Associated research grant: 17/11986-5 - Generation and storage of New Energy: bringing technological development for the country, AP.PCPE

Abstract

This project aims to develop novel composites to act as catalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting. These composites will be obtained by electrodeposition of electrocatalytic Ni-X nanoparticles (where X is one or more of Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Mo, Pt, or W) onto inorganic semiconductor substrates. It is expected that the semiconducting properties of the substrate combined with the presence of the nanoparticles guarantee a more efficient solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion and decrease the rate of electron-hole pair recombination, and promote the splitting of the water molecule through both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution (OER). The project will focus on optimising the synthesis of the nanoparticles in terms of nanoparticle size, distribution, surface coverage, and composition of Ni-X, for maximised efficiency regarding the hydrogen production rate. The nanoparticles will be characterised mainly by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) for chemical analysis. For the electrocatalytic performance, the HER and OER will be studied, depending on the suitability of the system, in alkaline, acidic, or neutral media, including seawater, by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronopotentiometry for long-term stability tests. Finally, photoelectrochemical measurements for overall water splitting will be performed using artificial sunlight radiation.