Maike Berger

Person

Maike Berger

M.Sc.
Chair of Heterogeneous Catalysis and Technical Chemistry

Address

Building: Sammelbau Chemie

Room: 38B 320

Worringerweg 2

52074 Aachen

Contact

WorkPhone
Phone: +49 241 80 26577
Fax Fax: +49 241 80 22177
 

Research

Overview on research focus Copyright: © Maike Berger

Nickel-iron electrocatalysts for alkaline water electrolysis


Global warming and the ever-increasing energy demand necessitate the development of alternative and sustainable fuels. Hydrogen, which can be produced in an environmentally friendly and emission-free manner by the electrolysis of water is a promising alternative energy carrier to conventional fuels. One problem that currently prevents large-scale industrial application is the large overpotential on the oxygen side. This overpotential comes from kinetic inhibition caused by a complex four-electron mechanism. Electrocatalysts that lower the kinetic barrier and have a long lifetime in the electrolyte medium are therefore essential for efficient green hydrogen production. Amongst many possible catalyst systems, iron-nickel layered double hydroxides were found to be highly active, stable and cost-efficient catalysts for alkaline water splitting. Moreover, the complexity of the material offers versatile adjustment opportunities and makes the material highly interesting for researchers.

Research focus

  • Synthesis of iron-nickel layered double hydroxides and application on suitable electrode materials
  • Application of different electrochemical measurement methods to characterize the catalyst
  • Kinetic investigation of the catalyst on the OER side and determination of the structure-activity relationship

Publications

M. Berger, I. M. Popa, L. Negahdar, S. Palkovits, B. Kaufmann, M. Pilaski, H. Hoster, R. Palkovits, Elucidating the Influence of Intercalated Anions in NiFe LDH on the Electrocatalytic Behavior of OER: A Kinetic Study, ChemElectroChem, 2023