Project Overview

This project focuses on developing high performance polycarbazole based electrodes for both oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in commercial water electrolyzers and the photoelectrochemical reduction of CO₂ and N₂. Building on earlier FES research in which polycarbazole based NiFe OER electrodes demonstrated excellent industrial performance in testing by a prominent Canadian Electrolysis company, the project will refine scalable electrodeposition and metalation methods for large area (10 × 10 cm²) electrodes capable of operating at high current densities (1 A/cm²). The project will also expand polycarbazole applications to photocatalytic CO₂ and N₂ reduction by developing new carbazole variants and cross linked polymer systems that are stable under reaction conditions. These materials will be tuned for activity by adjusting structure, thickness, and catalyst composition, including Cu for CO₂ reduction and vacancy rich MoS₂ for N₂ to NH₃ conversion.