Overview
- KIMS researchers reported in coverage on Aug. 21–22 that their ordered PtNi hydrogen‑evolution catalyst operated continuously for 3,000 hours in a 64 cm2 three‑cell anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) stack with less than 2% total performance degradation.
- Computational analysis shows atomic ordering strengthens nickel binding in the intermetallic lattice, and durability tests found the ordered catalyst lost about 9% of its nickel versus roughly 54% loss for a conventional disordered PtNi sample.
- The material was made by reducing platinum and nickel precursors at low temperature with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and then heat treating the particles under nitrogen to drive atoms into an ordered intermetallic structure.
- Validation moved from lab half‑cell tests to single‑cell experiments and then to the practical 64 cm2 three‑cell stack used for the 3,000‑hour run, demonstrating multi‑scale performance rather than only small‑scale lab results.
- The work, published in Carbon Energy and supported by South Korean government programs, opens a path to lower maintenance and precious‑metal costs for green hydrogen but still requires lower platinum loading, better large‑area electrode uniformity, and longer real‑world durability studies.