Understanding the synthesis of earth-abundant transition metal phosphides with in-situ TEM

Production of green hydrogen requires the use of efficient, cost-effective and scalable catalyst materials.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have emerged as a very promising earth-abundant alternative to catalysts based on noble metals.

Synthesizing these materials in a controlled way is however very challenging, due to their tendency to form many crystal phases with different properties, and the need to engineer structure, morphology and interfaces at an atomic scale in order to optimize performance.

To enable development of rational synthesis processes for TMP nanocrystals, a much deeper fundamental understanding of the physicochemical processes underlying their foundation is needed.

In this project we propose to use in-situ TEM combined with chemical vapour deposition to study the synthesis of novel TMP nanoscrystals in real time, with the aim to address key questions in the synthesis process.

Specifically, we will focus on understanding how reaction kinetics, diffusion processes and interface dynamics determine the crystal phase, shape, and faceting, as well as interface structure in hybrid TMPs.

In-situ TEM experiments will be complemented by modeling of the processes as well as ex-situ synthesis for upscaling and characterization of the materials.

All parts of the project will be conducted by members of the research group, but relevant collaborations will expand the impact of the research.