Development of Newly Designed Biomass-based Electrodes used in Water Electrolysis for Clean Hydrogen Production

The conventional electrolysis is recognized as a mature and promising hydrogen (H2) production technology, but there is still a strong need for further performance improvement. In this regard, achieving an effective H2 evolution reaction at the cathode requires costly catalysts, such as platinum and various catalyst-modified electrode materials. Nevertheless, these materials are expensive and involve complex production procedures. Due to an increasing interest in deploying biomaterial-based cathodes as potential alternatives to conventional cathode materials, we make the focus of this study on such materials, and a graphite-loaded bioelectrode is, in this regard, synthesized for electrolysis application for effective H2 production. The surface morphology and electrochemical activity of the produced biocathode are characterized. Our results show that the H2 production performance of the system improves with the increasing graphite dosage on the biocathode and with the applied voltage ranging from 2 to 6 V. At improved operating conditions, the highest H2 production rate of 1000 ppm (8.18 mg/m3 min) is obtained using a 1.5 g graphite-loaded biocathode at an applied voltage of 6 V. Consequently, the produced graphite-loaded biocathode can be a promising option for sustainable and effective H2 production with waste minimization, owing to its high conductivity, low-cost, and good stability.