Catalytic assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017226648-A1
Application number	US-201515503390-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 11, 2015
Priority date	Aug 11, 2014
Publication date	Aug 10, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a catalytic assembly comprising a porous electrically conductive substrate, and a porous metallic composite coating the substrate, where the catalytic assembly has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure, where the substrate has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure having a first average pore diameter (PD SUB ), and the porous metallic composite is amorphous and has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure having a second average pore diameter (PD PMC ), the PD PMC being sufficiently smaller than the PD SUB to allow the porous metallic composite to coat substrate surfaces throughout the substrate including surfaces of pores in the substrate. The catalytic assembly may be suitable for use as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts, among others.

First claim

1 . A catalytic assembly comprising
a porous electrically conductive substrate, and a porous metallic composite coating the substrate to exhibit catalytic activity when electric charge is applied, where the catalytic assembly has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure, where the substrate has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure having a first average pore diameter (PD SUB ), and the porous metallic composite is amorphous and has a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure having a second average pore diameter (PD PMC ), the PD PMC being sufficiently smaller than the PD SUB to allow the porous metallic composite to coat substrate surfaces throughout the substrate including surfaces of pores in the substrate.

2 . The catalytic assembly of claim 1 wherein the PD PMC ranges from approximately 5 nm to 300 nm.

3 . The catalytic assembly of claim 2 wherein the porous metallic composite has a thickness of between approximately 5 nm and 100 nm.

4 . (canceled)

5 . The catalytic assembly of claim 3 wherein the porous metallic composite comprises at least one of nanosheets and nanoflakes.

6 - 15 . (canceled)

16 . The catalytic assembly of claim 3 wherein the PD SUB is in the range of approximately 50,000 nm to approximately 1,000,000 nm.

17 . (canceled)

18 . (canceled)

19 . The catalytic assembly of claim 3 wherein the porous metallic composite comprises at least one metal.

20 . The catalytic assembly of claim 19 wherein the at least one metal is a transition metal.

21 . The catalytic assembly of claim 20 wherein the transition metal is a first-row transition metal.

22 - 26 . (canceled)

27 . The catalytic assembly of claim 19 wherein the metallic composite comprises a bimetallic composite.

28 . (canceled)

29 . The catalytic assembly of claim 27 wherein the bimetallic composite is selected from the group consisting of a nickel-iron composite, a nickel-cobalt composite, a manganese-iron composite, a manganese-cobalt composite, or a manganese-zinc composite.

30 - 36 . (canceled)

37 . The catalytic assembly of claim 19 wherein the porous metallic composite comprises a trimetallic composite.

38 . (canceled)

39 . The catalytic assembly of claim 37 wherein the trimetallic composite is selected from the group consisting of a nickel-cobalt-iron composite, a manganese-cobalt-nickel composite or a molybdenum-cobalt-nickel composite.

40 . (canceled)

41 . (canceled)

42 . The catalytic assembly of claim 1 wherein the porous electrically conductive substrate is a foam.

43 . (canceled)

44 . The catalytic assembly of claim 42 wherein the foam is selected from the group consisting of nickel foam, aluminium foam, graphite foam, nickel-iron foam, copper foam or titanium foam.

45 . (canceled)

46 . (canceled)

47 . A method of preparing a catalytic assembly, the method comprising the steps of:
(i) providing a porous electrically conductive substrate having a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure and having a first average pore diameter (PD SUB ); and (ii) coating substrate surfaces throughout the substrate including surfaces of the pores in the substrate with a porous metallic composite having a second average pore diameter (PD PMC ) the porous metallic composite coating being adapted to exhibit catalytic activity when electric charge is applied, and wherein step (ii) does not include the use of binders to adhere the porous metallic composite to substrate surfaces; the porous metallic composite being amorphous and having a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure, and the PD PMC being sufficiently smaller than the PD SUB to allow the porous metallic composite to coat surfaces of pores in the substrate, the catalytic assembly having a three dimensional interpenetrating porous structure.

48 . (canceled)

49 . The method of claim 47 wherein step (ii) comprises electrodepositing the porous metallic composite on to the substrate surfaces throughout the substrate including surfaces of pores in the substrate.

50 . (canceled)

51 . The method of claim 49 wherein electrodeposition of the porous metallic composite is carried out using an electrolyte bath which comprises equimolar electrolytes of Ni 2+ and Fe 2+ .

52 . The method of claim 51 wherein the electrolyte bath comprises 3 mM Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O and 3 mM Fe(NO 3 ) 3 .9H 2 O.

53 . The method of claim 49 wherein electrodeposition of the porous metallic composite is carried out using an electrolyte bath which comprises equimolar electrolytes of Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , and Fe 2+ .

54 . The method of claim 49 wherein electrodeposition of the porous metallic composite is carried out using an electrolyte bath which comprises with x mM Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O, x mM Co(NO 3 ) 3 .6H 2 O and y mM Fe(NO 3 ) 3 .9H 2 O,
where 2x+y=5.

55 - 63 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Newsouth Innovations Pty Ltd

Inventors

• Zhao Chuan
• Lu Xunyu

Classifications

• C25B11/04

  characterised by the material · CPC title

• C25D3/562

  containing more than 50% by weight of iron or nickel or cobalt · CPC title

• C25D5/40

  Nickel; Chromium · CPC title

• C25B1/04 Primary

  by electrolysis of water · CPC title

• C25D7/00

  Electroplating characterised by the article coated · CPC title