Research Projects

Electrocatalytic water splitting is a green alternative to fossil fuels, and polyoxometalates (POMs)-based systems have been used for generating W- and Mo-based composites as cheap HER electrocatalysts. However, these approaches have drawbacks such as synthetic difficulties, cost, wide size distribution, and non-uniform doping of the catalyst. This paper proposes a novel modular synthetic strategy for preparing Mo/W-based mixed metal oxides/chalcogenides supported over a conductive carbon matrix for HER application. The approach involves preparing a primary POM-hybrid with ?CHO, ?COOH, etc. groups on the organic counter ions (OCIs), followed by post-functionalization with chosen organic/metal-organic moieties to yield post-functionalized hybrids. These pre-catalysts are then annealed to generate the final mixed metal oxides/chalcogenides@C composites. This approach allows engineering of the pre-catalysts at the molecular level by choosing appropriate precursors. The method also allows defect engineering in the catalyst by controlling annealing temperatures. A variety of readily available POM precursors will be tested, and various OCIs bearing ?CHO, ?COOH functional groups will be used for making primary POM-hybrids. The pre- and final catalysts will be thoroughly characterized and tested for electrocatalytic HER. The catalyst design will be tuned based on the initial results. This novel synthetic methodology has good potential for yielding cheap, stable, efficient, and improved HER catalysts. 1-2 patents, 5-6 high-impact publications, and a Ph.D. thesis are expected outcomes, along with the possible commercialization of the best catalyst(s).