Recent Trends in Development of Metal Nitride Nanocatalysts for Water Electrolysis Application

Abstract

Nanocatalysts for sustainable water electrolysis is strongly desirable to promote the commercialization of H2 as the alternate clean energy source for the future. The goal is cheaper hydrogen production from sea and low grade water by minimizing the energy consumption and using low cost cell components & non-noble metal catalysts. The conductivity of metal nitrides and their ability to carry out Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Oxygen Evolution Reaction at relatively low overpotential render these one of the frontline candidates to be potentially utilized as the catalyst for low cost H2 production via electrolysis. In this chapter, the potential of metal nitride catalyst towards fulfilling the above objective is discussed. The synthesis of various metal nitride catalysts, their efficiency towards electrode half reactions and the effectiveness of these class of nanocatalyst for electrolysis of sea water is elaborated. A review of recent literature with special reference to the catalyst systems based on non-noble metals will be provided to assess the likelihood of these nanocatalyst to serve as a commercial grade electrode material for sea water electrolysis.