Molybdenum shows role in electrochemical hydride transfer

Platinum is the preferred catalyst for electrochemical hydride transfer - a chemical process for producing valuable chemicals or carbon-free fuels – but the metal is rare and expensive. Molybdenum - far more abundant and less costly - could potentially take platinum’s place in the process, Magnus Rueping and his team at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) have shown.

According to KAUST, several molybdenum-based catalysts, including molybdenum sulphide, have previously shown promise for hydride transfer electrocatalysis, but the reason for their high activity was unclear.

“We wanted to determine how this catalyst functioned,” said Jeremy Bau, a research scientist in Rueping’s lab.

The team applied electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) to study the molybdenum sulphide electrocatalyst in real time. “Unexpectedly, we were able to capture the entire process as it was happening,” Bau said in a statement. “We were able to trap the catalyst’s active state: Mo³⁺ ions directly bound to hydrogen.”