Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology · Energy
Professor Yunfei Bu's research lab specializes in the design and development of advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable energy conversion and storage applications. The lab focuses on fundamental understanding and rational engineering of active sites in heterogeneous catalysts, particularly through atomic-level modulation of electronic and geometric structures. Key research directions include the development of non-precious metal and low-platinum-group-metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with an emphasis on carbon-based materials, perovskite oxides, and transition metal nitrides or carbides. The lab integrates experimental techniques such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) with advanced theoretical calculations (DFT) to uncover structure-activity relationships and guide the design of high-performance, durable, and cost-effective catalysts.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub> O<sub>2</sub> ) is an environment-friendly and efficient oxidant with a wide range of applications in different industries. Recently, the production of hydrogen peroxide through direct electrosynthesis has attracted widespread research attention, and has emerged as the most promising method to replace the traditional energy-intensive multi-step anthraquinone process. In ongoing efforts to achieve highly efficient large-scale electrosynthesis of H<sub>2</sub> O<su
Of the various catalysts that have been developed to date for high performance and low cost, perovskite oxides have attracted attention due to their inherent catalytic activity as well as structural flexibility. In particular, high amounts of Pr substitution of the cation ordered perovskite oxide originating from the state-of-the-art Ba<sub>0.5</sub>Sr<sub>0.5</sub>Co<sub>0.8</sub>Fe<sub>0.2</sub>O<sub>3-δ</sub> (BSCF) electrode could be a good electrode or catalyst because of its high oxygen ki
Abstract Hydrogen adsorption/desorption behavior plays a key role in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysis. The HER reaction rate is a trade-off between hydrogen adsorption and desorption on the catalyst surface. Herein, we report the rational balancing of hydrogen adsorption/desorption by orbital modulation using introduced environmental electronegative carbon/nitrogen (C/N) atoms. Theoretical calculations reveal that the empty d orbitals of iridium (Ir) sites can be reduced by interactio
The development of highly active and durable inexpensive electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is still a formidable challenge. Herein, an ordered hexagonal-closed-packed (hcp)-Ru nanocrystal coated with a thin layer of N-doped carbon (hcp-Ru@NC) was fabricated through the thermal annealing of polydopamine (PDA)-coated Ru nanoparticle (RuNP@PDA). As an alternative to Pt/C catalyst, the hcp-Ru@NC nanocatalyst exhibited the small overpotential of 27.5 mV at a current density of 10
A new catalyst, P-3G simultaneously exhibited outstanding multifunctional catalytic activities for the ORR, OER, and HER. The synergistic effects between perovskite oxides and 3DNG was firstly proposed by DFT calculations.
Identification of active sites is one of the main obstacles to rational design of catalysts for diverse applications. Fundamental insight into the identification of the structure of active sites and structural contributions for catalytic performance are still lacking. Recently, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and density functional theory (DFT) provide important tools to disclose the electronic, geometric and catalytic natures of active sites. Herein, we demonstrate the structural identifica
Fabricating perovskite oxide/carbon material composite catalysts is a widely accepted strategy to enhance oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR and OER) catalytic activities. Herein, synthesized, porous, perovskite-type Sm<sub>0.5</sub> Sr<sub>0.5</sub> CoO<sub>3-δ</sub> hollow nanofibers (SSC-HF) are hybridized with cross-linked, 3D, N-doped graphene (3DNG). This rationally designed hybrid catalyst, SSC-HF-3DNG (SSC-HG), exhibits a remarkable enhancement in ORR/OER activity i
Abstract The efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts under acidic conditions is largely determined by the equilibrium of hydrogen adsorption/desorption on the catalyst surface. A promising strategy for enhancing the performance of multimetal‐supported HER electrocatalysts is the utilization of hydrogen spillover. However, current heterostructured catalysts often present challenges such as high interfacial transport barriers, extended reaction paths, and intricate synthes
Substantial consumption of fossil fuels causes an increase in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and intensifies global pollution problems, such as the greenhouse effect. Recently, a new type of ultra-low-density porous material, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), has been developed for the photocatalytic conversion of CO<sub>2</sub>. Herein, a composite photocatalytic catalyst based on NH<sub>2</sub>-MIL-125(Ti) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO@NH<sub>2</sub>-MIL-125) was fabricated through a facile "one-po
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