Rational design of a PMo12–SiW12 coupled catalytic system toward energy-efficient methanol-to-hydrogen conversion

Abstract

Methanol is a promising hydrogen carrier for sustainable hydrogen production, but conventional electrocatalytic methanol oxidation for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is limited by sluggish kinetics and susceptibility to catalyst poisoning. We developed a novel bifunctional Pt/Super-Electrically Activated Carbon (SEAC) catalyst coupled with a synergistic H₃PMo₁₂O₄₀ (PMo₁₂) and H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ (SiW₁₂) system for hydrogen production from methanol. The integrated PMo₁₂–SiW₁₂ system can operate at a low voltage of 0.89 V to achieve 1 A cm⁻², reducing energy consumption to 1.73 kW h Nm⁻³ H₂, which is only 38.02% of that for conventional alkaline water electrolysis. This PMo₁₂–SiW₁₂ mediated approach can also be extended to other organic hydrogen carriers like ethanol, offering a low-cost, energy-efficient pathway for sustainable hydrogen production.