Control of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Metal Oxides for Energy Storage

Hydrogen can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels in many applications. However,commercially relevant scales of hydrogen production utilize either electrolysis or a combination of steam methane reforming and the water gas shift reaction which are energy intensive and non-renewable. Here I report on a portion of work toward understanding the fundamental physical and chemical phenomena that constrain the maximum solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency for photoelectrochemical particle-slurry reactors. Using Rh-doped strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 :Rh), a variable power light source, and an inline-mass spectrometry the rate of hydrogen production can be controlled and optimized.In the second part of my work, I report on the spectro-electrochemical behavior of crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) mesoporous films as a model system for aqueous redox flow battery charging/discharging. The effects of potential determining ions on the density of states in the materials are discussed

Control of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Metal Oxides for Energy Storage

Hydrogen can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels in many applications. However,commercially relevant scales of hydrogen production utilize either electrolysis or a combination of steam methane reforming and the water gas shift reaction which are energy intensive and non-renewable. Here I report on a portion of work toward understanding the fundamental physical and chemical phenomena that constrain the maximum solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency for photoelectrochemical particle-slurry reactors. Using Rh-doped strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 :Rh), a variable power light source, and an inline-mass spectrometry the rate of hydrogen production can be controlled and optimized.In the second part of my work, I report on the spectro-electrochemical behavior of crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) mesoporous films as a model system for aqueous redox flow battery charging/discharging. The effects of potential determining ions on the density of states in the materials are discussed