Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, Drexel University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory are collaborating to make water disinfection treatments more sustainable through scalable electrochemical ozone production (EOP) technologies. Although EOP has the potential to replace chlorine treatments used in water disinfection currently, little is known about EOP at the molecular level and how to optimize the technology to be efficient, economical, and sustainable. Lead author Rayan Alaufey, along with other researchers, recently published a study exploring the interplay between catalyst corrosion and homogeneous reactive oxygen species in electrochemical ozone production in the journal ACS Catalysis.
John A. Keith, an associate professor at Pitt, explains that EOP has the potential to generate ozone directly in water, which has similar disinfecting power to chlorine but naturally decomposes after about 20 minutes. This makes ozone less likely to harm individuals consuming water from a tap, swimming in a pool, or cleaning wounds in a hospital. However, finding a good enough catalyst for EOP has been a challenge, making the process expensive and energy-intensive. The researchers aimed to decode what makes a mediocre EOP catalyst work at the atomic level to engineer an improved catalyst for sustainable water disinfection.
The researchers focused on understanding the role of each atom in the nickel- and antimony-doped tin oxide (NATO) catalyst in electrochemical ozone production. They found that a mix of factors, including corrosion and leaching of nickel atoms from the electrodes, promotes chemical reactions that generate ozone on the NATO electrocatalysts. This discovery challenges the idea of how ozone is catalytically formed and highlights the importance of understanding the fundamental processes to enhance EOP and other electrocatalytic processes. By using experimental and computational methods, the researchers created an atomic-scale storyline to explain the generation of ozone on NATO electrocatalysts.
Keith emphasized the significance of the findings and the need to identify and address corrosion and solution phase reactions before developing improvements to EOP and other electrochemical oxidation processes. The researchers believe that clarifying these technological constraints is crucial for the future applications of EOP on a global scale. They propose the exploration of new atomic combinations in materials that are more resistant to corrosion while promoting economically and sustainably viable EOP for water disinfection. The ultimate goal is to find better catalysts that can enhance electrochemical water treatment and make it more accessible worldwide.
