- A research team led by Professor Youngjun Chang at the Department of Physics, University of Seoul, improved the hydrogen production reaction performance of a two-dimensional metal thin film

- Suggested a new strategy for developing catalysts for next-generation hydrogen energy

Through joint research with Professor Aloysius Soon at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, a research team led by Professor Youngjun Chang at the Department of Physics, University of Seoul, found that controlling the surface oxidation of a two-dimensional metal thin film can improve the hydrogen production reaction performance of the catalyst. The study’s findings will be published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A (impact factor: 11.9), one of the most authoritative journals in the field of energy and environmental materials published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. 

While vanadium diselenide (VSe2), a two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenide, garnered attention as a low-cost hydrogen production catalyst without rare metals, the effect of surface oxidation on its performance is yet to be fully determined. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations at a high partial pressure of water using a synchrotron radiation accelerator, the research team discovered that a thin film of pure VSe2 allowed for limited adsorption and decomposition of water molecules; therefore, it had low-level efficiency in producing hydrogen. They also revealed that properly oxidizing the surface of VSe2 facilitated water adsorption and decomposition and greatly improved the catalyst’s performance. 

This study has garnered significant attention from both academia and industry, as it suggests a new design strategy for controlling the state of surface oxidation to maximize the efficiency of a two-dimensional material catalyst. It is especially notable in the field of next-generation green energy technologies due to its abundant resources and diverse electrical properties. 

“This study represents a critical milestone in improving the hydrogen production performance of catalysts by controlling the electronic structure and chemical reactivity of two-dimensional metallic materials,” said Professor Chang. “It is expected to serve as an original technology to develop high-efficiency, low-cost hydrogen energy catalysts in the future.” 

This study was funded by the Collective Research Support Project, Mid-Career Researcher Support Project, Creative Challenge Research Foundation Support Project, and Overseas Large Research Facilities Utilization Research Support Project, which are supported by South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

▶ Dr. Hyukjin Kim and Dr. Yonghyeok Lee (co-first authors) and Professor Aloysius Soon and Professor Youngjun Chang (co-corresponding authors)