A gradual shift from the consumption of conventional hydrocarbon fuels to energy-saving, environment-friendly renewable energy sources is the need of the hour. When it comes to seeking alternatives to depleting energy sources, specifically fossil fuels, hydrogen could be considered the most clean and efficient carbon-free renewable energy carrier. The hydrogen economy is the integrated system of hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and its utilization in fuel cells. Transition metal-based nanocomposites have recently been a center of research studies for green hydrogen production technology. Transition metal-based nanocomposites are considered promising candidates for replacing noble metal-based electrocatalysts due to their abundance, low cost, and good electrocatalytic performance. These inherent properties can be tuned to facilitate hydrogen storage, fuel cell applications, and ammonia production, thus further aiming for a sustainable energy technology. Here, the thesis focuses on the synthesis of transition metals/transition metal oxide/alloy hydride nanostructures for (i) efficient hydrogen storage (ii) PEM fuel cell as efficient anode electrocatalysts and (iii) ammonia production using thermal energy.
In the first section, transition metal nanoparticles (Fe, Co, Ni, Pd) modified nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures are shown to be efficient hydrogen storage materials at ambient pressure and room temperature conditions. In the second section, Pt nanoparticles decorated high-temperature annealed and hydrogenated WO3 is demonstrated as a durable and efficient anode electrocatalyst for PEM fuel cell applications. In the third section, selective alloy hydrides are demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst for ammonia production at low temperatures.
REFERENCES
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