Seawater battery and schematic depiction of the developed catalyst. Credit: Chemical Engineering Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.159219
Revolutionizing Seawater Batteries with Sustainable Catalysts
Seawater batteries are emerging as a transformative force in energy storage technology, enabling efficient electricity retention and release sourced from saltwater resources.
Innovative Catalyst Development at UNIST
A groundbreaking advancement in this field has been made by researchers led by Professor Dong Woog Lee at UNIST’s School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, where they have successfully created a high-efficiency catalyst utilizing urea combined with wood waste materials.
This new catalyst contributes to lowering overvoltage levels needed for seawater cells while enhancing electrochemical reactions, thereby promoting rapid electricity delivery.
The outcomes of this research have been documented in a recent publication in the Chemical Engineering Journal.
Sustainable Ingredients for High Performance
In prior applications, precious metals like platinum were commonly used as catalysts; however, their high costs create significant barriers to widespread use.
The innovative solution from Professor Lee’s team incorporates cost-effective components such as lignin—an organic polymer that constitutes approximately 15% to 35% of wood debris produced during paper and biofuel manufacturing—and urea, a nitrogen-rich substance often found in industrial wastewater.
Catalyst Creation Process
The research involved heating lignin to an impressive temperature of 800°C while simultaneously combining it with urea under identical conditions, which resulted in the nitrogen doping throughout the lignin framework—a key innovation that enhances its catalytic performance significantly.
Performance Validation Against Traditional Catalysts
The testing phases demonstrated that electrodes integrated with this novel catalyst exhibited capabilities similar to those using conventional platinum-based catalysts but achieved lower overvoltage readings than Pt/C counterparts.
A reduced overvoltage is beneficial as it allows for a greater percentage of stored energy to be effectively utilized during discharge cycles—with recorded power densities reaching up to 15.76 mW/cm² versus platinum’s 16.15 mW/cm²—indicative of improved discharge efficiency.
A Vision Towards Carbon Neutrality
Professor Lee emphasized the implications of their work, stating that “We are introducing an environmentally friendly methodology that diminishes reliance on expensive metals while optimizing biomass utilization.” He suggested viable applications extending beyond seawater batteries into additional energy storage technologies such as metal-air batteries.
For further reading:
Ji Hwan Hong et al., “N-doped carbonized lignin for electrocatalysts in seawater batteries,” Chemical Engineering Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.159219
Provided by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
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Author : Tech-News Team
Publish date : 2025-03-01 00:51:13
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