Research Projects

Rationale: With the continuous rise in global and Indian energy demand, unusual climate change has become a serious threat and the source of motivation for developing sustainable and efficient energy solutions. In India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) imposes a National Green Hydrogen Mission that aims to make India a global hub of green hydrogen, and their export can make India self-dependent in building a sustainable energy future. Recently, India has targeted a 100% share of low-carbon source electricity production by 2047. To achieve this larger goal, a self-contained regenerative fuel cell (RFC) is the most ambitious and core technology available. However, commercialization faces significant obstacles, notably high costs and a lack of technological maturity. A major cost contributor is reliance on expensive noble metal electrocatalysts (Pt, Pd) for RFC cathodes, accounting for ~40% of the overall cost. To introduce alternatives for these high-cost noble metals, this current project proposes a novel approach to develop a high-entropy multicomponent-based (HEM) electrocatalyst, characterized by rich elemental mixing and adjustable electronic structure. Materials that possess unique catalytic features with high mass activity and fast cathode kinetics due to strong lattice distortion, interesting diffusion kinetics, high mixed entropy, mechanical strength, radiation, and corrosion stability in all pH range. The HEM-based electrocatalysts can be designed to have significant catalytic activity and mass activity outstripping the commercial bare noble metal-based (Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru) electrocatalysts. This proposal aims to develop a novel class of HEM-based cathode materials and perform their in-depth study of their GHE and ORR capacity, integrating Density Functional Theory (DFT) and techno-economic aspects of the industrial future. Hypothesis: HEM-based electrocatalysts, with rich elemental mixing and adjustable electronic structures, can replace high-cost noble metals in RFC cathodes, achieving superior GHE/ORR performance. This HEM's unique properties are high entropy effect, slow diffusion, lattice distortion, and a synergistic cocktail effect, which influence stability and optimization of active sites. The "unusual Sabatier principle" for optimal intermediate adsorption in HEMs will be explored. The overarching model emphasizes careful control over nanostructure size, composition, structure, electronic configuration, entropy, stability, and dispersity for high catalytic efficiency. Experiments: Theoretical/experimental selection and development of non-noble HEMs (co-reduction, thermal decomposition) for GHE/ORR, followed by comprehensive characterization (UV-vis, FTIR, XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, XPS, EXAFS/XANES). Evaluation of HEM performance against noble metals and conducting theoretical DFT for electronic properties/active site detection. Finally, overall performance/sustainability vs. state-of-the-art catalysts assessment.