Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a nickel–iron catalyst that helps split water into hydrogen and oxygen faster and more efficiently.
KTH Professor Lichen Sun with contributions from KTH Professor Mårten Ahlquist and doctoral researcher Hao Yang engineered a molecular scaffold to hold nickel and iron atoms in fixed positions which allowed the researchers to study how electrons and protons move during water splitting.
They discovered that placing the atoms close together helps hydrogen ions move efficiently, while hydroxyl groups on nickel act as “proton relays” to speed up oxygen formation, the toughest part of splitting water, according to the researchers.
“Our findings connect the dots between real-world nickel–iron oxide catalysts and a detailed molecular understanding,” Ahlquist said. “This opens a path to create next-generation materials that work even better and last longer. For hydrogen technology, that means faster, more efficient, and more sustainable ways to produce clean fuel.”
The findings were published in Nature Chemistry.