Mn-Ag Water-Splitting Electrocatalyst
Official patent title
Mn—Ag electrocatalyst and method for generating hydrogen and oxygen
Arabic title: محفز كهربائي من Mn—Ag وطريقة لتوليد الهيدروجين والأكسجين
Invention
Invention
Problem
Water electrolysis needs electrocatalysts that promote both hydrogen and oxygen evolution while limiting kinetic losses. Activity, electrical resistance, stability, and the cost of catalyst constituents all affect practical deployment.
Why it matters
A bifunctional catalyst can simplify electrode-material development for alkaline electrolysis and support research into renewable-electricity conversion and hydrogen production.
Approach
The disclosed Mn–Ag catalyst combines manganese-oxide nanoparticles with silver-containing nanoplates having a silver core and a silver-tungstate shell, and is used as an electrocatalyst for hydrogen- and oxygen-evolution reactions.
Who may benefit
Potential beneficiaries include electrolyzer manufacturers, electrocatalyst developers, hydrogen-technology laboratories, renewable-energy researchers, and advanced-material suppliers.
Potential value
The patent presents one composition for both electrode reactions and reports electrochemical metrics, material phases, porosity, resistivity, and mass activity for a manganese-oxide/silver-tungstate architecture.
Background
Background
Electrochemical water splitting separates hydrogen and oxygen through two kinetically demanding half-reactions. Noble-metal catalysts can perform well, but material cost and supply encourage investigation of alternative architectures. Bifunctional catalysts are attractive because a common material can be evaluated for both the hydrogen-evolution and oxygen-evolution reactions. The disclosed design uses manganese oxides together with a substantial silver-containing fraction, so performance, silver loading, durability, and whole-electrolyzer efficiency must all be considered when comparing it with established electrode materials.
Technology overview
Technology overview
The catalyst includes 30–50 wt.% manganese oxide and 50–70 wt.% silver-containing nanoplates. The silver component is described as an Ag core with an Ag2WO4 shell, while the manganese component includes Mn3O4 and MnO2. The disclosure reports surface area, porosity, resistance, charge-transfer resistance, Tafel slopes, overpotential, mass activity, turnover frequency, and oxygen Faradaic efficiency. Hydrogen evolution is evaluated in hydroxide electrolyte at negative potentials and oxygen evolution at positive potentials versus RHE.
Potential applications
Potential applications
- Alkaline water-electrolysis research.
- Hydrogen-evolution electrode development.
- Oxygen-evolution electrode development.
- Bifunctional electrocatalyst benchmarking.
Evidence-supported advantages
Evidence-supported advantages
- Targets both hydrogen and oxygen evolution.
- Combines multiple manganese oxidation states with silver tungstate.
- Reports material and electrochemical characterization.
- Provides defined composition and morphology ranges.
- Reports high mass activity in the disclosed tests.
Development stage
Development stage
Laboratory material characterization and half-cell electrochemical measurements are described; long-term durability, industrial-current operation, and complete-electrolyzer efficiency were not established. The development stage was not independently verified.
Commercial opportunity
Commercial opportunity
The catalyst could support partnerships in alkaline-electrolyzer materials and electrode coatings. Commercialization requires long-duration operation at industrial current density, accelerated degradation tests, silver-use and recycling economics, repeatable coating manufacture, gas purity and Faradaic validation, and comparison in a complete electrolyzer against current benchmark catalysts.
Patent classifications
Patent classifications
WIPO IPC
- C25B1/04Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/037Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
CPC
- C25B11/052Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/091Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B1/04Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/065Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/067Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/061Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/037Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/054Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- C25B11/077Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for producing compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor
- Y02E60/36Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions related to energy generation, transmission or distribution
Inventors
Inventors
- First inventorMohamed Khairy Abdel Fattah Omran
- InventorMohamed Mokhtar Mohamed
- InventorSamar Mohamed Syam
- InventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair
Keywords
Keywords
- Mn–Ag catalyst
- water electrolysis
- hydrogen evolution
- oxygen evolution
- silver tungstate
- manganese oxide
- bifunctional electrocatalyst
Patent document and drawings
Patent document and drawings
The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.