Australasian Science Magazine

An international research team involving the universities of Adelaide and Queensland, Deakin University and the Queensland University of Technology has used the Australian Synchrotron to investigate a metal-free catalyst that can rival the production of hydrogen using expensive metallic catalysts.

Currently, the most effective way to produce hydrogen from water uses platinum catalysts that provide a surface that can temporarily hold hydrogen ions liberated from water molecules until two protons can combine with two electrons to form a hydrogen gas molecule.

The new catalyst combines graphitic-carbon nitride with nitrogen-doped graphene, both of which form regular 2D structures that can be stacked or joined to make larger arrays.

The collaborators believe this is the world’s first metal-free hybrid catalyst for electrocatalytic production of hydrogen. The catalyst’s properties appear to stem from chemical bonds and other interactions between the graphitic-carbon nitride and the nitrogen-doped graphene components.

The researchers used the Synchrotron’s soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline to probe the interactions between the graphitic-carbon nitride and the nitrogen-doped graphene.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers say their findings provide clear evidence that “well-designed metal-free counterparts ... have great potential for highly efficient electrocatalytic evolution of hydrogen” similar to precious metals.

They say that the interactions that take place between graphitic-carbon nitride and nitrogen-doped graphene open up “a new avenue towards replacing noble metals by broader alternatives in a wide variety of applications”.