Dissertation
Designing three-dimensional nanoporous metal alloys for selective electrochemical conversion catalysis
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000048
Abstract
The rising demands of clean energy owing to a burgeoning global population and deteriorating climate has given rise to new avenues of research in electrocatalysis focusing on extraction and storage of energy through electrochemical reactions. In contrast to heterogeneous catalysts, electrochemical catalysts often need to withstand harsh reaction environments with respect to electrolyte pH and applied overpotentials. The stability requirements constrain the breadth of applicable materials, limiting the viable catalysts to those composed of more noble metals, which are invariably more costly. The design of next generation electrocatalyst materials requires strategies to balance activity and stability while at the same time minimizing the utilization of expensive materials to limit costs. Open-framework nanocatalyst architectures show promise as they maximize surface area to volume ratios and their morphology and surface chemistry are readily tuned through controlled processing methodologies. Among the high aspect ratio, open-framework nanostructures, nanoporous metals obtained through dealloying offer a unique class of three dimensional electrode materials that are useful for a number of electrolytic processes owing to their conductive high surface area structure and tunable near surface composition. Herein, we study the porosity evolution processes in multimetallic alloys through classical dealloying and alternative methods, in pursuit of creating optimal bicontinuous nanoporous architectures for two important electrochemical reactions, central to the carbon and water cycles: CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
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Details
- Title
- Designing three-dimensional nanoporous metal alloys for selective electrochemical conversion catalysis
- Creators
- Swarnendu Chatterjee
- Contributors
- Joshua Snyder (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xiv, 149 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Chemical (and Biological) Engineering (1970-2026); College of Engineering (1970-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014695147304721