A researcher from BRIN’s Catalysis Research Center, Yusuf Mathiinul Hakim, in a statement here on Sunday, explained that hydrogen is one of the clean energy sources that plays a vital role in supporting the transition toward sustainable energy.
“NiFe-LDH material has been widely developed as a transition metal-based catalyst because it has relatively low production costs and good electrochemical activity,” he said.
However, Hakim noted that limited conductivity remains a challenge in improving the material’s performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction.
To address this issue, he and his team developed a heterostructure-based composite by combining NiFe-LDH with AgPO, which serves as a supporting semiconductor.
“This approach is expected to modulate the electronic structure and strengthen interphase interactions in the composite, analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman Spectroscopy,” he said.
From an electrochemical performance standpoint, Hakim said the NiFe-LDH/AgPO composite has a significantly higher electrochemical surface area (ECSA) compared to its individual components.
In Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) testing, the NiFe-LDH/AgPO composite showed the lowest overpotential of 156.6 mV, lower than pure NiFe-LDH or single AgPO.
Overall, Hakim said that the research demonstrates that the NiFe-LDH/AgPO heterostructure engineering is effective in enhancing electrocatalytic activity for water splitting.
The finding opens significant opportunities for the composite as a candidate material for more efficient and sustainable hydrogen production.
“This increase in ECSA indicates that the heterostructure formation is able to provide more active sites for the reaction,” Hakim noted.
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Translator: Sean, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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