New Catalysts for Electrochemical and Solar H2 Production

化学催化项目支持亚利桑那大学的Richard Glass教授和他的同事进行研究，旨在开发廉价高效的催化剂，以化学键形式储存电能，特别是用于从水中产生H2。催化剂的设计灵感来自于特别高效的氢化酶，这些氢化酶含有丰富的铁和镍中心，是这项工作的重点。探索有机氧化还原中心与双铁和双金属催化中心耦合的新基础科学。互补合成，光谱表征和电化学评价研究将进行。对分子内电子转移的理解将从这项工作中采用的机械方法中得到。这些研究将促进新型催化材料的开发，以及对这些材料如何在太阳能驱动的氢发电中发挥作用的理解。这些新材料可能对替代能源的生产和清洁能源的供应产生重大影响。

The Chemical Catalysis Program supports Professor Richard Glass and his coworkers at the University of Arizona for investigations designed to develop cheap and efficient catalysts for storing energy from electricity in chemical bonds, particularly for the production of H2 from water. Design of catalysts inspired by exceptionally efficient hydrogenase enzymes containing earth abundant Fe and Ni centers are the focus of this work. New basic science in which organic redox centers are coupled with diiron and bimetallic catalytic centers will be explored. Complementary synthetic, spectroscopic characterization, and electrochemical evaluation studies will be carried out. Understanding of intramolecular electron-transfer will result from the mechanistic approach taken in this work. The development of novel catalytic materials, coupled with an understanding of how these materials operate in the solar energy driven generation of hydrogen, will result from these studies. These new materials could have a major impact on alternative energy production, and on the supply of clean sources of energy.