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Designing the Heart of Hydrogen Cars with AI... Development of Next-Generation Super Catalyst
<(From left) KAIST Ph.D. Candidate HyunWoo Chang, Professor EunAe Cho. (Top, from left) Seoul National University Professor Won Bo Lee, Dr. Jae Hyun Ryu.>
In the era of climate crisis, hydrogen vehicles are emerging as an alternative for eco-friendly mobility. However, the fuel cell, known as the ‘heart of the hydrogen car,’ still faces limitations of high cost and short lifespan. The core cause is the platinum catalyst. While it is a decisive material for generating electricity, the reaction is slow, performance degrades over time, and manufacturing costs are high. Korean researchers have presented a clue to solving this difficult problem.
KAIST announced on February 26th that the research team led by Professor EunAe Cho of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, together with the team of Professor Won Bo Lee of the School of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University, has developed a technology that predicts the ‘atomic arrangement’ tendency of catalysts using artificial intelligence (AI).
This technology is akin to calculating beforehand which combination is advantageous for completing a puzzle before putting it together. By having AI calculate the arrangement speed of metal atoms first, it has become possible to efficiently design catalysts with better performance. The core of this research is that ‘AI revealed the fact that zinc plays a decisive role in the platinum-cobalt atomic arrangement.’
<Schematic diagram of AI-based atomic alignment prediction>
Despite the high performance of existing platinum-cobalt (Pt-Co) alloy catalysts, very high-temperature heat treatment was required to create the ‘intermetallic (L1₀)’ structure, where atoms are regularly arranged. In this process, particles would clump together, or the structure would become unstable, posing limitations for actual fuel cell application.
To solve this problem, the research team introduced machine learning-based quantum chemistry simulations. Through AI, they precisely predicted how atoms move and arrange themselves inside the catalyst.
As a result, they discovered that zinc (Zn) acts as a mediating element that promotes atomic arrangement. The principle is that when zinc is introduced, atoms find their places more easily, forming a more sophisticated and stable structure. In other words, AI has found the ‘optimal path for atomic arrangement creation’ in advance.
< Synthesis process of Zinc-introduced Platinum-Cobalt catalyst>
The zinc-platinum-cobalt catalyst, synthesized based on AI predictions, secured both higher activity and superior long-term durability compared to commercial platinum catalysts. This is a case proving that the ‘virtual blueprint’ calculated by artificial intelligence can be implemented as a high-performance catalyst in an actual laboratory.
In particular, this technology is expected to contribute to extending catalyst lifespan and reducing manufacturing costs across core carbon-neutral industries, such as hydrogen passenger cars, hydrogen trucks requiring long-distance operation, hydrogen ships, and energy storage systems (ESS).
< Conceptual diagram of AI-based catalyst development (AI-generated image) >
Professor EunAe Cho stated, “This research is a case of utilizing machine learning to predict the atomic arrangement tendency of catalysts in advance and implementing this through actual synthesis,” and added, “AI-based material design will become a new paradigm for the development of next-generation fuel cell catalysts.”
Ph.D. Candidate HyunWoo Chang from KAIST’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Dr. Jae Hyun Ryu from Seoul National University’s School of Chemical and Biological Engineering participated as co-first authors in this research. The research results were published on January 15, 2026, in ‘Advanced Energy Materials,’ a world-renowned academic journal in the energy materials field. ※ Paper Title: Machine Learning-Guided Design of L1₀-PtCo Intermetallic Catalysts: Zn-Mediated Atomic Ordering, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202505211
This research was conducted with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Nano & Material Technology Development Program and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning’s Energy Innovation Research Center for Fuel Cell Technology.
2026.02.27 View 503 -
KAIST Transforms Hydrogen Energy by Flattening Granular Catalysts into Paper-Thin Sheets
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate HyunWoo J Yang, Ph.D candidate SangJae Lee, Professor EunAe Cho, Ph.D candidate DongWon Shin>
Catalysts are the “invisible engines” of hydrogen energy, governing both hydrogen production and electricity generation. Conventional catalysts are typically fabricated in granular particle form, which is easy to synthesize but suffers from inefficient use of precious metals and limited durability. KAIST researchers have introduced a paper-thin sheet architecture in place of granules, demonstrating that a structural innovation—rather than new materials—can simultaneously reduce precious-metal usage while enhancing both hydrogen production and fuel-cell performance.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 21st of January that a research team led by Professor EunAe Cho of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed a new catalyst architecture that dramatically reduces the amount of expensive precious metals required while simultaneously improving hydrogen production and fuel-cell performance.
The core of this research lies in the application of ultrathin nanosheet structures, with thicknesses tens of thousands of times thinner than a human hair, enabling the team to overcome both efficiency and durability limitations of conventional catalysts.
Water electrolyzers and fuel cells are key technologies for hydrogen energy production and utilization. However, their commercialization has been severely constrained by the scarcity and high cost of iridium (Ir) and platinum (Pt), which are commonly used as catalysts. In conventional particle-based catalysts, only a limited surface area participates in reactions, and long-term operation inevitably leads to performance degradation.
To address this, the research team transformed agglomerated catalyst particles into paper-like, ultrathin and laterally extended sheets. For water electrolysis, they developed ultrathin iridium nanosheets with lateral size of 1–3 micrometers and thicknesses below 2 nanometers. This structure dramatically increased the active surface area participating in reactions, enabling significantly higher hydrogen production with the same amount of iridium.
< Ultrafine Iridium Nanosheet (AI-generated image) >
In addition, the team discovered that these ultrathin nanosheets naturally formed interconnected conductive pathways on titanium oxide (TiO2), a material previously considered unsuitable as a catalyst support due to its poor electrical conductivity. As a result, titanium oxide could be stably used as a catalyst support, further enhancing durability.
The resulting catalyst achieved a 38% higher hydrogen production rate than commercial catalysts and operated stably for over 1,000 hours under high-load, industry-relevant conditions (1 A/cm2*). Notably, even with approximately 65% less iridium, the catalyst delivered performance comparable to commercial benchmarks, demonstrating a major reduction in precious-metal usage.
*1 A/cm2: a high-current condition corresponding to intensive operation of practical hydrogen-production systems
The team further applied the ultrathin nanosheet design strategy to fuel-cell catalysts, producing platinum–copper nanosheets with thicknesses again tens of thousands of times thinner than a human hair.
In fuel-cell evaluations, this catalyst exhibited a 13-fold improvement in mass activity per unit platinum compared with commercial catalysts, and delivered approximately 2.3 times higher performance in full fuel-cell tests. Even after 50,000 accelerated durability cycles, the catalyst retained about 65% of its initial performance, significantly outperforming conventional catalysts. Importantly, the same performance was achieved while reducing platinum usage by approximately 60%.
Professor EunAe Cho emphasized, “This study presents a new catalyst architecture that simultaneously enhances hydrogen production and fuel-cell performance while using far less expensive precious metals,” adding, “It represents a critical turning point for lowering the cost of hydrogen energy and accelerating its commercialization.”
<Schematic illustration of ultrathin nanosheet synthesis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the fabricated catalyst>
<Fabrication process of an ultrathin nanosheet catalyst and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the fabricated catalyst>
The results of this work were published in two separate papers, both based on the shared core technology of ultrathin nanosheet architectures—one focused on hydrogen-production catalysts and the other on fuel-cell catalysts.
The iridium nanosheet study, with doctoral candidate Dongwon Shin as first author, was published online on December 10, 2025, in ACS Nano (IF 16.0).
※ Paper title: “Ultrathin Iridium Nanosheets on Titanium Oxide for High-Efficiency and Durable Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis,” DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c15659
The platinum–copper nanosheet study, with SangJae Lee and doctoral candidate HyunWoo Yang as co–first authors, was published online on December 11, 2025, in Nano Letters (IF 9.6).
※ Paper title: “Ultrathin PtCu Nanosheets: A New Frontier in Highly Efficient and Durable Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction,” DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c04848
This research was supported by the Energy Human Resource Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and by the Nano- and Materials-Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT.
2026.01.23 View 730 -
KAIST, Production Temperature ↓ by 500°C, Power Output ↑ 2x… Next-Generation Ceramic Electrochemical Cell Reborn
<(Top row, from left) Professor Kang Taek Lee, Ph.D candidate Yejin Kang, Dr. Dongyeon Kim, (Bottom row, from left) M.S candidate Mincheol Lee, Ph.D candidate Seeun Oh, Ph.D candidate Seungsoo Jang, Ph.D candidate Hyeonggeun Kim>
As power demand surges in the AI era, the “protonic ceramic electrochemical cell (PCEC),” which can simultaneously produce electricity and hydrogen, is gaining attention as a next-generation energy technology. However, this cell has faced the technical limitation of requiring an ultra-high production temperature of 1,500°C. A KAIST research team has succeeded in establishing a new manufacturing process that lowers this limit by more than 500°C for the first time in the world.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 4th of December that Professor Kang Taek Lee’s research team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering developed a new process that enables the fabrication of high-performance protonic ceramic electrochemical cells at temperatures more than 500°C lower than before, using “microwave + vapor control technology” that leverages microwave heating principles and the diffusion environment of chemical vapor generated from specific chemical components.
The electrolyte—the key material of protonic ceramic electrochemical cells—contains barium (Ba), and barium easily evaporates at temperatures above 1,500°C, which has been the main cause of performance degradation. Therefore, the ability to harden the ceramic electrolyte at a lower temperature has been the core issue that determines cell performance.
As power demand surges in the AI era, the “protonic ceramic electrochemical cell (PCEC),” which can simultaneously produce electricity and hydrogen, is gaining attention as a next-generation energy technology. However, this cell has faced the technical limitation of requiring an ultra-high production temperature of 1,500°C. A KAIST research team has succeeded in establishing a new manufacturing process that lowers this limit by more than 500°C for the first time in the world.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 4th of December that Professor Kang Taek Lee’s research team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering developed a new process that enables the fabrication of high-performance protonic ceramic electrochemical cells at temperatures more than 500°C lower than before, using “microwave + vapor control technology” that leverages microwave heating principles and the diffusion environment of chemical vapor generated from specific chemical components.
The electrolyte—the key material of protonic ceramic electrochemical cells—contains barium (Ba), and barium easily evaporates at temperatures above 1,500°C, which has been the main cause of performance degradation. Therefore, the ability to harden the ceramic electrolyte at a lower temperature has been the core issue that determines cell performance.
To solve this, the research team devised a new heat-treatment method called “vapor-phase diffusion.” This technique places a special auxiliary material (a vapor source) next to the cell and irradiates it with microwaves to quickly diffuse vapor. When the temperature reaches approximately 800°C, the vapor released from the auxiliary material moves toward the electrolyte and tightly bonds the ceramic particles. Thanks to this technology, a process that previously required 1,500°C can now be completed at just 980°C. In other words, a world-first ceramic electrochemical cell fabrication technology has been created that produces high-performance electricity at a “low temperature” without damaging the electrolyte.
A cell fabricated with this process produced 2 W of power stably from a 1 cm² cell (roughly the size of a fingernail) at 600°C and generated 205 mL of hydrogen per hour at 600°C (about the volume of a small paper cup, among the highest in the industry). It also maintained stability without performance degradation during 500 hours of continuous operation.
In other words, this technology reduces the production temperature (−500°C), lowers the operating temperature (600°C), doubles performance (2 W/cm²), and extends the lifespan (500-hour stability), achieving world-class performance in ceramic cell technology.
The research team also enhanced the reliability of the technology by using digital twins (virtual simulations) to analyze gas-transport phenomena occurring in the microscopic internal structure of the cell − phenomena that are difficult to observe in actual experiments.
<Figure 1. (a) Schematic of the vapor-diffusion-based process; (b) Surface microstructure of the electrolyte; (c) Internal barium composition ratio of the electrolyte according to processing conditions; (d) Comparison of power-generation performance with previous studies>
< Figure 2. (a) Three-dimensional reconstructed image of the protonic ceramic electrochemical cell fuel electrode according to processing conditions (b) Pore structure (c) Gas-transport simulation results >
Professor Kang Taek Lee emphasized, “This study is the world’s first case of using vapor to lower the heat-treatment temperature by more than 500°C while still producing a high-performance, high-stability cell.” He added, “It is expected to become a key manufacturing technology that addresses the power challenges of the AI era and accelerates the hydrogen society.”
Dongyeon Kim (KAIST PhD) and Yejin Kang (KAIST PhD candidate) participated as co–first authors. The research results were published in Advanced Materials (IF: 26.8), one of the world’s leading journals in energy and materials science, and were selected as the Inside Front Cover article on October 29.
(Paper title: “Sub-1000°C Sintering of Protonic Ceramic Electrochemical Cells via Microwave-Driven Vapor Phase Diffusion,” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202506905)
This research was supported by the MSIT’s Mid-career Researcher Program and the H2 Next Round Program.
2025.12.05 View 1821 -
Success in Measuring Nano Droplets, A New Breakthrough in Hydrogen, Semiconductor, and Battery Research
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Uichang Jeong, Professor Seungbum Hong>
In hydrogen production catalysts, water droplets must detach easily from the surface to prevent blockage by bubbles, allowing for faster hydrogen generation. In semiconductor manufacturing, the quality of the process is determined by how evenly water or liquid spreads on the surface, or how quickly it dries. However, directly observing how such water or liquid spreads and moves on a surface ('wettability') at the nanoscale has been technically almost impossible until now, forcing researchers to rely mostly on conjecture. KAIST announced on December 2nd that a research team led by Professor Seungbum Hong of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Jongwoo Lim's team at Seoul National University, has developed a technology to directly observe nano-sized water droplets in real-time using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and to calculate the contact angle based on the droplet's shape. This research, by enabling the visual confirmation of the actual shape of nano-droplets, allows for the precise analysis of how well water droplets adhere to and detach from a surface. This is expected to be immediately applicable to various advanced technologies where liquid movement determines performance, such as hydrogen production catalysts, fuel cells, batteries, and semiconductor processes. Recently, precise measurement at the nanoscale has become crucial for wettability analysis technology. Traditional methods using large water droplets, several millimeters in size, could distinguish between hydrophilicity (where water spreads easily) and hydrophobicity (where water doesn't spread easily) on the surface. However, at the nanoscale, the droplets are too small to directly observe their shape. The research team successfully induced nano-droplets to form naturally by gently cooling the surface to a temperature where atmospheric water vapor does not freeze. They then observed these droplets using the non-contact mode of the AFM to capture their original shape. Since nano-droplets are sensitive and can be deformed by mere contact with the probe, precise control is essential. Furthermore, when the team applied this technique to the ferroelectric material lithium tantalate, they were the first to confirm a difference in the nano-droplet contact angle depending on the material's electrical direction (polarization). This difference, which was not visible with large droplets, demonstrates that nano-droplets are highly sensitive to the electrical state of the surface. The team then applied this technology to the water electrolysis catalyst used in hydrogen production, observing a single nano-droplet. This result aids in understanding how water reacts on the catalyst surface and can be used to analyze catalyst performance, particularly how well bubbles detach.
<Figure 1. Nanoscale droplet visualization using non-contact mode>
<Figure 2. Single-droplet visualization formed on sub-micron-sized water-splitting catalyst LiFeLDH particles>
Professor Seungbum Hong stated, "This research is an important case demonstrating that the Atomic Force Microscope can be used to directly visualize nano-sized water droplets and even measure the contact angle. Being able to observe the behavior of water droplets in the nano-world, which was previously invisible, will establish this as a core analysis technology for the development of next-generation energy and electronic materials." This research, in which Uichang Jeong, a PhD candidate in the KAIST Department of Materials Science and Engineering, participated as the first author, was published on October 17th in 'ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces', a prestigious journal in the field of new materials and chemical engineering published by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Paper Title: Nanoscale Visualization and Contact Angle Analysis of Water Droplets on Ferroelectric Materials
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c14404
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2025.12.03 View 1231 -
KAIST Fabricates Green Hydrogen Cells in Just 10 Minutes Like Using a Microwave
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Hyeongmin Yu, Ph.D candidate Seungsoo Jang, Ph.D candidate Donghun Lee, Ph.D candidate Gayoung Yoon, Professor Kang Taek Lee>
Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), a key technology for producing green hydrogen without carbon emissions, require a high-temperature “sintering” process to harden ceramic powders. Researchers at KAIST have successfully shortened this process from six hours to just ten minutes, while also reducing the required temperature from 1,400°C to 1,200°C. This innovation dramatically cuts both energy consumption and production time, marking a major step forward for the green hydrogen era.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 25th of October that a research team led by Professor Kang Taek Lee from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed an ultra-fast manufacturing method capable of producing high-performance green hydrogen electrolysis cells in only ten minutes.
The core of this technology lies in sintering—a process in which ceramic powders are baked at high temperatures to form a dense, tightly bonded structure. Proper sintering is critical: it ensures that gases do not leak (as hydrogen and oxygen mixing could cause explosions), oxygen ions move efficiently, and the electrodes adhere firmly to the electrolyte to allow smooth current flow. In short, the precision of the sintering process directly determines the cell’s performance and lifetime.
To address these challenges, the KAIST team applied a “volumetric heating” technique that uses microwaves to heat the material uniformly from the inside out. This approach shortened the sintering process by more than thirtyfold compared to conventional methods. Whereas traditional sintering requires prolonged heating above 1,400°C, the new process uses microwaves to heat the material internally and evenly, achieving stable electrolyte formation at just 1,200°C within 10 minutes.
In conventional fabrication, the essential materials—ceria (CeO₂) and zirconia (ZrO₂)—tend to intermix at excessively high temperatures, degrading material quality. KAIST’s new method allows these two materials to bond firmly at the right temperature without mixing, producing a dense, defect-free bilayer electrolyte.
The total “processing time” includes heating, holding, and cooling. The conventional sintering process required about 36.5 hours, whereas KAIST’s microwave-based technique completes the entire cycle in only 70 minutes—over 30 times faster.
<Figure 1. (a) Schematic illustration of the microwave-based ultrafast sintering process and the conventional sintering process (b) Cross-sectional SEM images of the bilayer ceramic electrolyte according to the sintering process>
The resulting electrochemical cells demonstrated remarkable performance: they produced 23.7 mL of hydrogen per minute at 750°C, maintained stable operation for over 250 hours, and exhibited excellent durability. Using 3D digital twin simulations, the team further revealed that ultra-fast microwave heating improves electrolyte density and suppresses abnormal grain growth of nickel oxide (NiO) particles within the fuel electrode, thereby enhancing hydrogen production efficiency.
<Figure 2. 3D reconstruction, contact area, and electrochemically active site images of the solid oxide electrochemical cell according to the sintering process>
Professor Kang Taek Lee stated, “This research introduces a new manufacturing paradigm that enables the rapid and efficient production of high-performance solid oxide electrolysis cells.” He added, “Compared to conventional processes, our approach drastically reduces both energy consumption and production time, offering strong potential for commercialization.”
This study was co-first-authored by Hyeongmin Yu and Seungsoo Jang, both Ph.D. candidates in Mechanical Engineering at KAIST, with Donghun Lee and Gayoung Youn as collaborators. The research was published online on October 2 in Advanced Materials (Impact Factor: 26.8) and was selected as the Inside Front Cover feature paper for its scientific significance.
※ Paper title: “Ultra-Fast Microwave-Assisted Volumetric Heating Engineered Defect-Free Ceria/Zirconia Bilayer Electrolytes for Solid Oxide Electrochemical Cells”, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202500183)
This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT through the H2 Next Round Program, the Mid-Career Researcher Program, and the Global Research Laboratory (GRL) Program.
2025.10.29 View 1980 -
KAIST Successfully Develops High-Performance Water Electrolysis Without Platinum, Bringing Hydrogen Economy Closer
< Photo 1. (Front row, from left) Jeesoo Park (Ph.D. Candidate), Professor Hee-Tak Kim (Back row, from left) Kyunghwa Seok (Ph.D. Candidate), Dr. Gisu Doo, Euntaek Oh (Ph.D. Candidate) >
Hydrogen is gaining attention as a clean energy source that emits no carbon. Among various methods, water electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, is recognized as an eco-friendly hydrogen production method. Specifically, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is considered a next-generation hydrogen production technology due to its ability to produce high-purity hydrogen at high pressure. However, existing PEMWE technology has faced limitations in commercialization due to its heavy reliance on expensive precious metal catalysts and coating materials. Korean researchers have now proposed a new solution to address these technical and economic bottlenecks.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on June 11th that a research team led by Professor Hee-Tak Kim of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in a joint study with Dr. Gisu Doo of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER, President Chang-keun Lee), has developed a next-generation water electrolysis technology that achieves high performance without the need for expensive platinum (Pt) coating.
The research team focused on the primary reason why 'iridium oxide (IrOx),' a highly active catalyst for water electrolysis electrodes, fails to perform optimally. They found that this is due to inefficient electron transfer and, for the first time in the world, demonstrated that performance can be maximized simply by controlling the catalyst particle size.
In this study, it was revealed that the reason iridium oxide catalysts do not exhibit excellent performance without platinum coating is due to 'electron transport resistance' that occurs at the interface between the catalyst, the ion conductor (hereinafter referred to as ionomer), and the Ti (titanium) substrate—core components inherently used together in water electrolysis electrodes.
Specifically, they identified that the 'pinch-off' phenomenon, where the electron pathway is blocked between the catalyst, ionomer, and titanium substrate, is the critical cause of reduced conductivity. The ionomer has properties close to an electron insulator, thereby hindering electron flow when it surrounds catalyst particles. Furthermore, when the ionomer comes into contact with the titanium substrate, an electron barrier forms on the surface oxide layer of the titanium substrate, significantly increasing resistance.
< Figure 1. Infographic related to electron transport resistance at the catalyst layer/diffusion layer interface >
To address this, the research team fabricated and compared catalysts of various particle sizes. Through single-cell evaluation and multiphysics simulations, they demonstrated, for the first time globally, that when iridium oxide catalyst particles with a size of 20 nanometers (nm) or larger are used, the ionomer mixed region decreases, ensuring an electron pathway and restoring conductivity.
Moreover, they successfully optimized the interfacial structure through precise design, simultaneously ensuring both reactivity and electron transport. This achievement demonstrated that the previously unavoidable trade-off between catalyst activity and conductivity can be overcome through meticulous interfacial design.
This breakthrough is expected to be a significant milestone not only for the development of high-performance catalyst materials but also for the future commercialization of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis systems that can achieve high efficiency while drastically reducing the amount of precious metals used.
Professor Hee-Tak Kim stated, "This research presents a new interface design strategy that can resolve the interfacial conductivity problem, which was a bottleneck in high-performance water electrolysis technology." He added, "By securing high performance even without expensive materials like platinum, it will be a stepping stone closer to realizing a hydrogen economy."
This research, with Jeesoo Park, a Ph.D. student from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST, as the first author, was published on June 7th in 'Energy & Environmental Science' (IF: 32.4, 2025), a leading international journal in the energy and environmental fields, and was recognized for its innovativeness and impact. (Paper title: On the interface electron transport problem of highly active IrOx catalysts, DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05816J).
This research was supported by the New and Renewable Energy Core Technology Development Project of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
2025.06.11 View 8248 -
KAIST Develops World-Leading Ammonia Catalyst for Hydrogen Economy
Hydrogen production using renewable energy is a key technology for eco-friendly energy and chemical production. However, storing and transporting hydrogen remains a challenge. To address this, researchers worldwide are investigating methods to store hydrogen in the form of ammonia (NH₃), which is carbon-free and easier to liquify. A research team at KAIST has successfully developed a high-performance catalyst that enables ammonia synthesis at very low temperatures and pressures without energy loss.
KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 11th of March that a research team led by Professor Minkee Choi from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has developed an innovative catalytic system that significantly enhances ammonia production while drastically reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.
< (From left) Baek Ye-jun, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biochemical Engineering, Professor Choi Min-ki >
Currently, ammonia is produced using the Haber-Bosch process, a technology over a century old that relies on iron (Fe)-based catalysts. This method requires extreme conditions—temperatures above 500°C and pressures exceeding 100 atmospheres—resulting in enormous energy consumption and contributing significantly to global CO₂ emissions. Additionally, ammonia is primarily produced in large-scale industrial plants, leading to high distribution costs.
As an alternative, there is growing interest in an eco-friendly process that synthesizes ammonia using green hydrogen—produced via water electrolysis—under mild conditions (300°C, 10 atmospheres). However, developing catalysts that can achieve high ammonia productivity at such low temperatures and pressures is essential, as current technologies struggle to maintain efficiency under these conditions.
The research team developed a novel catalyst by incorporating ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles and highly basic barium oxide (BaO) particles onto a conductive carbon surface, allowing it to function like a chemical capacitor*.
*Capacitor: A device that stores electrical energy by separating positive and negative charges.
During ammonia synthesis, hydrogen molecules (H₂) first dissociate into hydrogen atoms (H) on the ruthenium catalyst. These hydrogen atoms are further split into protons (H⁺) and electrons (e⁻). The study revealed that the acidic protons are stored in the strongly basic BaO, while the remaining electrons are separated and stored in ruthenium and carbon.
This unique chemical capacitor effect significantly enhances the ruthenium catalyst's electron density, accelerating nitrogen (N₂) dissociation—the rate-limiting step of ammonia synthesis—thereby dramatically increasing catalytic activity.
Furthermore, the team discovered that optimizing the nanostructure of the carbon material further boosts the electron density of ruthenium, maximizing catalytic performance. As a result, the new catalyst demonstrated over seven times higher ammonia synthesis performance compared to state-of-the-art catalysts under mild conditions (300°C, 10 atm).
< Schematic diagram showing the mechanism of ruthenium catalyst activity enhancement by barium oxide cocatalyst >
Professor Minkee Choi stated, “This research has garnered significant attention for demonstrating that catalytic activity can be greatly enhanced by controlling electron transfer within a thermal catalytic reaction system, not just in electrochemical processes.”
He further explained, “Our findings confirm that high-performance catalysts can enable efficient ammonia synthesis under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions. This could shift ammonia production from centralized, large-scale industrial plants to decentralized, small-scale production, making the hydrogen economy more sustainable and flexible.”
The study was led by Professor Minkee Choi as corresponding author and Yaejun Baik, a Ph.D. candidate, as first author. The research findings were published in Nature Catalysis on February 24.
(Paper title: “Electron and proton storage on separate Ru and BaO domains mediated by conductive low-work-function carbon to accelerate ammonia synthesis,” https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01302-z)
This research was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Research and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2025.03.11 View 7590 -
KAIST and Hyundai Motors Collaborate to Develop Ultra-Fast Hydrogen Leak Detection within 0.6 Seconds
Recently, as the spread of eco-friendly hydrogen cars increases, the importance of hydrogen sensors is also on the rise. In particular, achieving technology to detect hydrogen leaks within one second remains a challenging task. Accordingly, the development of the world's first hydrogen sensor that meets the performance standards of the U.S. Department of Energy has become a hot topic.
A team at KAIST led by Dr. Min-Seung Jo from Professor Jun-Bo Yoon's team in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has successfully achieved all of its desired performance indicators, meeting globally recognized standards through collaboration with the Electromagnetic Energy Materials Research Team at Hyundai Motor Company's Basic Materials Research Center and Professor Min-Ho Seo of Pusan National University. On January 10th, the research group announced that the world's first hydrogen sensor with a speed of less than 0.6 seconds had been developed.
In order to secure faster and more stable hydrogen detection technology than existing commercialized hydrogen sensors, the KAIST team began developing a next-generation hydrogen sensor in 2021 together with Hyundai Motor Company, and succeeded after two years of development.
< Figure 1. (Left) The conceptual drawing of the structure of the coplanar heater-integrated hydrogen sensor. Pd nanowire is stably suspended in the air even with its thickness of 20 nm. (Right) A graph of hydrogen sensor performance operating within 0.6 seconds for hydrogen at a concentration of 0.1 to 4% >
Existing hydrogen sensor research has mainly focused on sensing materials, such as catalytic treatments or the alloying of palladium (Pd) materials, which are widely used in hydrogen sensors. Although these studies showed excellent performance with certain performance indicators, they did not meet all of the desired performance indicators and commercialization was limited due to the difficulty of batch processing.
To overcome this, the research team developed a sensor that satisfied all of the performance indicators by combining independent micro/nano structure design and process technology based on pure palladium materials. In addition, considering future mass production, pure metal materials with fewer material restrictions were used rather than synthetic materials, and a next-generation hydrogen sensor was developed that can be mass-produced based on a semiconductor batch process.
The developed device is a differential coplanar device in which the heater and sensing materials are integrated side by side on the same plane to overcome the uneven temperature distribution of existing gas sensors, which have a structure where the heater, insulating layer, and sensing materials are stacked vertically. The palladium nanomaterial, which is a sensing material, has a completely floating structure and is exposed to air from beneath, maximizing the reaction area with a gas to ensure a fast reaction speed. In addition, the palladium sensing material operates at a uniform temperature throughout the entire area, and the research team was able to secure a fast operation speed, wide sensing concentration, and temperature/humidity insensitivity by accurately controlling temperature-sensitive sensing performance.
< Figure 2. Electron microscopy of the coplanar heater-integrated hydrogen sensor (left) Photo of the entire device (top right) Pd nanowire suspended in the air (bottom right) Cross section of Pd nanowire >
The research team packaged the fabricated device with a Bluetooth module to create an integrated module that wirelessly detects hydrogen leaks within one second and then verified its performance. Unlike existing high-performance optical hydrogen sensors, this one is highly portable and can be used in a variety of applications where hydrogen energy is used.
Dr. Min-Seung Jo, who led the research, said, “The results of this research are of significant value as they not only operate at high speeds by exceeding the performance limits of existing hydrogen sensors, but also secure the reliability and stability necessary for actual use, and can be used in various places such as automobiles, hydrogen charging stations, and homes.” He also revealed his future plans, saying, “Through the commercialization of this hydrogen sensor technology, I would like to contribute to advancing the safe and eco-friendly use of hydrogen energy.”
< Figure 3. (Left) Real-time hydrogen detection results from the coplanar heater-integrated hydrogen sensor integrated and packaged in wireless communication and an app for mobile phone. (Middle) LED blinking cycle control in accordance with the hydrogen concentration level. (Right) Results of performance confirmation of the detection within 1 second in a real-time hydrogen leak demo >
The research team is currently working with Hyundai Motor Company to manufacture the device on a wafer scale and then mount it on a vehicle module to further verify detection and durability performance.
This research, conducted by Dr. Min-Seung Jo as the first author, has three patent applications filed in the U.S. and Korea, and was published in the renowned international academic journal 'ACS Nano'. (Paper title: Ultrafast (∼0.6 s), Robust, and Highly Linear Hydrogen Detection up to 10% Using Fully Suspended Pure Pd Nanowire). (Impact Factor: 18.087). ( https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.3c06806?fig=fig1&ref=pdf )
The research was conducted through support from the National Research Foundation of Korea's Nano and Materials Technology Development Project and support and joint development efforts from Hyundai Motor Company's Basic Materials Research Center.
2024.01.25 View 10940 -
A KAIST Research Team Develops Diesel Reforming Catalyst Enabling Hydrogen Production for Future Mobile Fuel Cells
This catalyst capability allowing stable hydrogen production from commercial diesel is expected to be applied in mobile fuel cell systems in the future hydrogen economy
On August 16, a joint research team led by Professors Joongmyeon Bae and Kang Taek Lee of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Chan-Woo Lee of Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) announced the successful development of a highly active and durable reforming catalyst allowing hydrogen production from commercial diesel.
Fuel reforming is a hydrogen production technique that extracts hydrogen from hydrocarbons through catalytic reactions. Diesel, being a liquid fuel, has a high storage density for hydrogen and is easy to transport and store. There have therefore been continuous research efforts to apply hydrogel supply systems using diesel reformation in mobile fuel cells, such as for auxiliary power in heavy trucks or air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems in submarines.
However, diesel is a mixture of high hydrocarbons including long-chained paraffin, double-bonded olefin, and aromatic hydrocarbons with benzene groups, and it requires a highly active catalyst to effectively break them down. In addition, the catalyst must be extremely durable against caulking and sintering, as they are often the main causes of catalyst degradation. Such challenges have limited the use of diesel reformation technologies to date.
The joint research team successfully developed a highly active and durable diesel reforming catalyst through elution (a heat treatment method used to uniformly grow active metals retained in an oxide support as ions in the form of metal nanoparticles), forming alloy nanoparticles. The design was based on the fact that eluted nanoparticles strongly interact with the support, allowing a high degree of dispersion at high temperatures, and that producing an alloy from dissimilar metals can increase the performance of catalysts through a synergistic effect.
The research team introduced a solution combustion synthesis method to produce a multi-component catalyst with a trace amount of platinum (Pt) and ruthenium (Ru) penetrated into a ceria (CeO2) lattice, which is a structure commonly used as a support for catalysts in redox reactions. When exposed to a diesel reforming reaction environment, the catalyst induces Pt-Ru alloy nanoparticle formation upon Pt and Ru elution onto the support surface.
In addition to the catalyst analysis, the research team also succeeded in characterizing the behaviour of active metal elution and alloy formation from an energetic perspective using a density functional theory-based calculation. In a performance comparison test between the Pt-Ru alloy catalyst against existing single-metal catalysts, the reforming activity was shown to have improved, as it showed a 100% fuel conversion rate even at a low temperature (600oC, compared to the original 800oC). In a long-term durability test (800oC, 200 hours), the catalyst showed commercial stability by successfully producing hydrogen from commercial diesel without performance degradation.
The study was conducted by Ph.D. candidate Jaemyung Lee of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as the first author. Ph.D. candidate Changho Yeon of KIER, Dr. Jiwoo Oh of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Gwangwoo Han of KIER, Ph.D. candidate Jeong Do Yoo of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Hyung Joong Yun of the Korea Basic Science Institute contributed as co-authors. Dr. Chan-Woo Lee of KIER and Professors Kang Taek Lee and Joongmyeon Bae of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering contributed as corresponding authors. The research was published in the online version of Applied Catalysis B: Environmental (IF 24.319, JCR 0.93%) on June 17, under the title “Highly Active and Stable Catalyst with Exsolved PtRu Alloy Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Production via Commercial Diesel Reforming”.
Professor Joongmyeon Bae said, “The fact that hydrogen can be stably produced from commercial diesel makes this a very meaningful achievement, and we look forward to this technology contributing to the active introduction of mobile fuel cell systems in the early hydrogen economy.” He added, “Our approach to catalyst design may be applied not only to reforming reactions, but also in various other fields.”
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea through funding from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
Figure. Schematic diagram of high-performance diesel reforming catalyst with eluted platinum-ruthenium alloy nanoparticles and long-term durability verification experiment results for commercial diesel reforming reaction
2022.09.07 View 22542 -
New Catalyst Recycles Greenhouse Gases into Fuel and Hydrogen Gas
< Professor Cafer T. Yavuz (left), PhD Candidate Youngdong Song (center), and Researcher Sreerangappa Ramesh (right) >
Scientists have taken a major step toward a circular carbon economy by developing a long-lasting, economical catalyst that recycles greenhouse gases into ingredients that can be used in fuel, hydrogen gas, and other chemicals. The results could be revolutionary in the effort to reverse global warming, according to the researchers. The study was published on February 14 in Science.
“We set out to develop an effective catalyst that can convert large amounts of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane without failure,” said Cafer T. Yavuz, paper author and associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry at KAIST.
The catalyst, made from inexpensive and abundant nickel, magnesium, and molybdenum, initiates and speeds up the rate of reaction that converts carbon dioxide and methane into hydrogen gas. It can work efficiently for more than a month.
This conversion is called ‘dry reforming’, where harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide, are processed to produce more useful chemicals that could be refined for use in fuel, plastics, or even pharmaceuticals. It is an effective process, but it previously required rare and expensive metals such as platinum and rhodium to induce a brief and inefficient chemical reaction.
Other researchers had previously proposed nickel as a more economical solution, but carbon byproducts would build up and the surface nanoparticles would bind together on the cheaper metal, fundamentally changing the composition and geometry of the catalyst and rendering it useless.
“The difficulty arises from the lack of control on scores of active sites over the bulky catalysts surfaces because any refinement procedures attempted also change the nature of the catalyst itself,” Yavuz said.
The researchers produced nickel-molybdenum nanoparticles under a reductive environment in the presence of a single crystalline magnesium oxide. As the ingredients were heated under reactive gas, the nanoparticles moved on the pristine crystal surface seeking anchoring points. The resulting activated catalyst sealed its own high-energy active sites and permanently fixed the location of the nanoparticles — meaning that the nickel-based catalyst will not have a carbon build up, nor will the surface particles bind to one another.
“It took us almost a year to understand the underlying mechanism,” said first author Youngdong Song, a graduate student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST. “Once we studied all the chemical events in detail, we were shocked.”
The researchers dubbed the catalyst Nanocatalysts on Single Crystal Edges (NOSCE). The magnesium-oxide nanopowder comes from a finely structured form of magnesium oxide, where the molecules bind continuously to the edge. There are no breaks or defects in the surface, allowing for uniform and predictable reactions.
“Our study solves a number of challenges the catalyst community faces,” Yavuz said. “We believe the NOSCE mechanism will improve other inefficient catalytic reactions and provide even further savings of greenhouse gas emissions.”
This work was supported, in part, by the Saudi-Aramco-KAIST CO2 Management Center and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Other contributors include Ercan Ozdemir, Sreerangappa Ramesh, Aldiar Adishev, and Saravanan Subramanian, all of whom are affiliated with the Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability at KAIST; Aadesh Harale, Mohammed Albuali, Bandar Abdullah Fadhel, and Aqil Jamal, all of whom are with the Research and Development Center in Saudi Arabia; and Dohyun Moon and Sun Hee Choi, both of whom are with the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory in Korea. Ozdemir is also affiliated with the Institute of Nanotechnology at the Gebze Technical University in Turkey; Fadhel and Jamal are also affiliated with the Saudi-Armco-KAIST CO2 Management Center in Korea.
<Newly developed catalyst that recycles greenhouse gases into ingredients that can be used in fuel, hydrogen gas and other chemicals.>
Publication:
Song et al. (2020) Dry reforming of methane by stable Ni–Mo nanocatalysts on single-crystalline MgO. Science, Vol. 367, Issue 6479, pp. 777-781. Available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aav2412
Profile: Prof. Cafer T. Yavuz, MA, PhD
yavuz@kaist.ac.kr
http://yavuz.kaist.ac.kr/
Associate Professor
Oxide and Organic Nanomaterials for the Environment (ONE) Laboratory
Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability (EEWS)
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
http://kaist.ac.kr
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Profile: Youngdong Song ydsong88@kaist.ac.kr
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
http://kaist.ac.kr
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
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2020.02.17 View 24646 -
Tungsten Suboxide Improves the Efficiency of Platinum in Hydrogen Production
< PhD Candidate Jinkyu Park and Professor Jinwoo Lee >
Researchers presented a new strategy for enhancing catalytic activity using tungsten suboxide as a single-atom catalyst (SAC). This strategy, which significantly improves hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in metal platinum (pt) by 16.3 times, sheds light on the development of new electrochemical catalyst technologies.
Hydrogen has been touted as a promising alternative to fossil fuels. However, most of the conventional industrial hydrogen production methods come with environmental issues, releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.
Electrochemical water splitting is considered a potential approach for clean hydrogen production. Pt is one of the most commonly used catalysts to improve HER performance in electrochemical water splitting, but the high cost and scarcity of Pt remain key obstacles to mass commercial applications.
SACs, where all metal species are individually dispersed on a desired support material, have been identified as one way to reduce the amount of Pt usage, as they offer the maximum number of surface exposed Pt atoms.
Inspired by earlier studies, which mainly focused on SACs supported by carbon-based materials, a KAIST research team led by Professor Jinwoo Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering investigated the influence of support materials on the performance of SACs.
Professor Lee and his researchers suggested mesoporous tungsten suboxide as a new support material for atomically dispersed Pt, as this was expected to provide high electronic conductivity and have a synergetic effect with Pt.
They compared the performance of single-atom Pt supported by carbon and tungsten suboxide respectively. The results revealed that the support effect occurred with tungsten suboxide, in which the mass activity of a single-atom Pt supported by tungsten suboxide was 2.1 times greater than that of single-atom Pt supported by carbon, and 16.3 times higher than that of Pt nanoparticles supported by carbon.
The team indicated a change in the electronic structure of Pt via charge transfer from tungsten suboxide to Pt. This phenomenon was reported as a result of strong metal-support interaction between Pt and tungsten suboxide.
HER performance can be improved not only by changing the electronic structure of the supported metal, but also by inducing another support effect, the spillover effect, the research group reported. Hydrogen spillover is a phenomenon where adsorbed hydrogen migrates from one surface to another, and it occurs more easily as the Pt size becomes smaller.
The researchers compared the performance of single-atom Pt and Pt nanoparticles supported by tungsten suboxide. The single-atom Pt supported by tungsten suboxide exhibited a higher degree of hydrogen spillover phenomenon, which enhanced the Pt mass activity for hydrogen evolution up to 10.7 times compared to Pt nanoparticles supported by tungsten suboxide.
Professor Lee said, “Choosing the right support material is important for improving electrocatalysis in hydrogen production. The tungsten suboxide catalyst we used to support Pt in our study implies that interactions between the well-matched metal and support can drastically enhance the efficiency of the process.”
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and introduced in the International Edition of the German journal Angewandte Chemie.
Figure. Schematic representation of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of pseudo single-atom Pt supported by tungsten suboxide
-Publication
Jinkyu Park, Dr. Seonggyu Lee, Hee-Eun Kim, Ara Cho, Seongbeen Kim, Dr. Youngjin Ye, Prof. Jeong Woo Han, Prof. Hyunjoo Lee, Dr. Jong Hyun Jang, and Prof. Jinwoo Lee. 2019. Investigation of the Support Effect in Atomically Dispersed Pt on WO3−x for Utilization of Pt in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. International Edition of Angewandte Chemie. Volume No. 58. Issue No. 45. 6 pages. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201908122
-ProfileProfessor Jinwoo LeeConvergence of Energy and Nano Science Laboratoryhttp://cens.kaist.ac.kr
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringKAIST
2019.10.28 View 28119 -
Distinguished Professor Sukbok Chang Donates His Prize Money
The honoree of the 2019 Korea Best Scientist and Technologist Award, Distinguished Professor Sukbok Chang donated his prize money of one hundred million KRW to the Chemistry Department Scholarship Fund and the Lyu Keun-Chul Sports Complex Management Fund during a donation ceremony last week.
Professor Chang won the award last month in recognition of his pioneering achievements and lifetime contributions to the development of carbon-hydrogen activation strategies, especially for carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, and carbon-oxygen formations. Professor Chang, a world renowned chemist, has been recognized for his highly selective catalytic systems, allowing the controlled defunctionalization of bio-derived platform substrates under mild conditions and opening a new avenue for the utilization of biomass-derived platform chemicals.
“All my achievements are the results of my students’ hard work and dedication. I feel very fortunate to have such talented team members. I want to express my sincere gratitude for such a great research environment that we have worked together in so far,” said Professor Chang at the ceremony.
KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin said, “Not only will Professor Chang’s donation make a significant contribution to the Department of Chemistry, but also to the improvement of the Lyu Keun-Chul Sports Complex’s management, which directly links to the health and welfare of the KAIST community.”
Professor Chang currently holds the position of distinguished professor at KAIST and director of the Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalizations in the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). He previously received the Kyung-Ahm Academic Award in 2013 and the Korea Toray Science Award in 2018. All these prize money also went to the school.
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2019.08.26 View 12755