The fast and energy-efficient synthesis of high-performance catalysts is a vital hurdle in advancing clear power applied sciences like hydrogen manufacturing. Addressing this problem, a analysis staff at KAIST has now developed a novel platform know-how that makes use of a 0.02-second flash of sunshine to generate an ultrahigh temperature of three,000 °C, enabling the extremely environment friendly synthesis of catalysts. This breakthrough course of reduces power consumption by greater than a thousandfold in comparison with typical strategies whereas growing hydrogen manufacturing effectivity by as much as six occasions, marking a major step towards the commercialization of unpolluted power.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) introduced on October 20 {that a} joint analysis staff, co-led by Professor Il-Doo Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Sung-Yool Choi from the School of Electrical Engineering, has developed a “direct-contact photothermal annealing” platform. This method synthesizes high-performance nanomaterials by temporary publicity to intense mild, producing a transient temperature of three,000 °C in simply 0.02 seconds.
Using this intense photothermal power, the researchers efficiently transformed chemically inert nanodiamond (ND) precursors into extremely conductive and catalytically energetic carbon nanoonions (CNOs).
More impressively, the tactic concurrently functionalizes the floor of the newly fashioned CNOs with single atoms. This built-in, one-step course of restructures the assist materials and embeds catalytic performance in a single mild pulse, representing a major innovation in catalyst synthesis.
CNOs, composed of concentric graphitic shells, are perfect catalyst helps resulting from their excessive conductivity, massive particular floor space, and chemical stability. However, conventional CNO synthesis has been hindered by advanced, multi-step post-processing required to load steel catalysts and by reliance on energy-intensive, time-consuming thermal remedies that restrict scalability.
To overcome these limitations, the KAIST staff leveraged the photothermal impact. They devised a technique of blending ND precursors with light-absorbing carbon black (CB) and making use of an intense pulse from a xenon lamp. This strategy triggers the transformation of NDs into CNOs in simply 0.02 seconds, a phenomenon validated by molecular dynamics simulations.
A key innovation of this platform is the simultaneous synthesis of CNOs and functionalization of single-atom catalysts (SACs). When steel precursors, comparable to platinum (Pt), are included within the combination, they decompose and anchor onto the floor of the nascent CNOs as particular person atoms. The subsequent fast cooling prevents atomic aggregation, leading to a superbly built-in one-step course of for each synthesis and functionalization. The staff has efficiently synthesized eight completely different high-density SACs, together with platinum (Pt), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni). The ensuing Pt-CNO demonstrated a sixfold enhancement in hydrogen evolution effectivity in comparison with typical catalysts, attaining excessive efficiency with considerably smaller portions of valuable metals. This highlights the know-how’s potential for scalable and sustainable hydrogen manufacturing.
“We have developed, for the first time, a direct-contact photothermal annealing process that reaches 3,000°C in under 0.02 seconds,” mentioned Professor Il-Doo Kim. “This ultrafast synthesis and single-atom functionalization platform reduces energy consumption by more than a thousandfold compared to traditional methods. We expect it to accelerate the commercialization of technologies in hydrogen energy, gas sensing, and environmental catalysis.”
The research’s first authors are Dogyeong Jeon (Ph.D. candidate, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST), Dr. Hamin Shin (an alumnus of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and a present postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich), and Dr. Jun-Hwe Cha (an alumnus of the School of Electrical Engineering, now at SK hynix). Professors Sung-Yool Choi and Il-Doo Kim are the corresponding authors.
The analysis was revealed as a Supplementary Cover Article within the September situation of ACS Nano, a number one worldwide journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
※ Paper title: “Photothermal Annealing-Enabled Millisecond Synthesis of Carbon Nanoonions and Simultaneous Single-Atom Functionalization,” DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c11229
This analysis was supported by the Global R&D Infrastructure Program and the Leading Research Center Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Nano Convergence Technology Center’s Semiconductor–Battery Interfacing Platform Development Project.