Date of Award

1-1-2020

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School/Department

Department of Chemistry

Content Description

1 online resource (xiii, 92 pages) : color illustrations.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Evgeny V Dikarev

Committee Members

Paul J Toscano

Keywords

chromium, diketonate, heterometallic, mixed valent, ruthenium, single source precursor, Ruthenium oxides, Transition metal oxides, Transition metals, Water, Hydrogen as fuel

Subject Categories

Inorganic Chemistry

Abstract

Hydrogen fuel can provide an ideal carbon-free energy carrier wherever water is available, be that on Earth or throughout the solar system. The use of water electrolysis to split water molecules into contaminant-free hydrogen gas, suitable for use in fuel cells, and oxygen gas allows also for storage of excess electrical energy during periods of high production and low demand, and an easy path to release that stored energy when demand is high and active supply is low. However, liberating hydrogen from water is an energy-intensive process, and effective electrocatalysts that reduce the amount of energy wasted by the reaction are the key to this process becoming viable for widespread use. Among the most active materials in this role are ruthenium oxides, which represent incredibly versatile and efficient catalysts for numerous electrochemical processes. Because of its cost, much effort has been focused on finding ways to combine ruthenium with less expensive metals to create active and less expensive mixed-metal oxides. This process has produced very promising results for water electrolysis when ruthenium is combined with manganese, while adding metals like cobalt and iron improve the performance of ruthenium oxide-based supercapacitors.

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