(532b) Applying Energy Conversion and Catalyst Rationale Towards Sustainability, Hydrogen Production and Nuclear Waste Management

Energy conversion represents a sustainable and viable approach to utilize and store energy in the form of chemical bonds or materials that are given as value-added products. Research into hydrogen production via water electrolysis addresses environmental and sustainability concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels. Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have recently emerged as earth abundant catalysts for their metal-hydride bond strength that lowers the kinetic energetics required for such reactions. Monometallic and bimetallic TMPs have been reported herein for their crystal structure and composition dependence. Overall, this work provides insights into designing and attempting to understand intrinsic properties to consider for application of catalysts that apply to a magnitude of research fields.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) traditionally are utilized in catalytic applications, but are scarce and costly. However, PGMs cannot be overlooked due to the existing infrastructure and knowledge base for PGMs in industrial applications. Therefore, efficiency, safety and cost are the driving factors for catalyst rationale when including PGMs. Energy conversion methodologies were utilized to synthesize PGM functionalized photocatalysts through facile photochemical methods as value-added products.

On the way towards efficient energy, waste management is a necessity and can offer significant energy and cost savings. Even though waste management is not directly involved with energy production research, it enables clean energy processes such as nuclear power. Infrastructure and processes that are essential to our current standard of living can continuously be updated and made more efficient to benefit our environment. The total amount of unit operations for chemical processing is not typically thought of for renewable energy. In actuality, additional processing steps and separations/waste management consume a large portion of the energy sector. Therefore, process optimization and waste management can be impactful on the energy industry. Furthermore, the processing of waste into value-added products is beneficial if viable.