Indian researchers have developed a metal-free porous material that performs close to platinum in a key reaction inside zinc-air batteries, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on 7 October 2026. Platinum is one of the world’s rarest and most expensive metals, and the ministry says its cost and scarcity are barriers to large-scale use. A cheaper substitute could therefore lower the cost of clean-energy technologies.
What the researchers built
The material is called TTT-DHTD. According to the official statement, it is made from abundant elements (carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and hydrogen) and forms an ultra-porous, honeycomb-like network that converts oxygen into electricity. Its engineered molecular structure creates sites where oxygen molecules can attach and react easily.
The key figure comes from the ministry. Laboratory tests showed the catalyst reached about 96 per cent of the performance of commercial platinum catalysts. The related paper in Science Advances gives the underlying measurement. The material’s half-wave potential was 0.82 volts, against 0.85 volts for a 20 per cent platinum-on-carbon catalyst. The half-wave potential is a standard yardstick for how readily a catalyst drives the oxygen reaction, and a higher value is better. The two figures sit close together.
Durability is the second result. After 120 hours of continuous operation, the material kept its performance without the degradation or contamination that often affects metal-based catalysts. In the paper, the platinum catalyst’s current fell to 75 per cent after 20 hours under similar conditions. The material also tolerated methanol well.
Why oxygen chemistry matters
The reaction at the centre of this work is oxygen reduction. Zinc-air batteries can offer simpler, more compact storage than hydrogen fuel cells, without high-pressure hydrogen storage or extensive hydrogen infrastructure. Both technologies depend on efficient oxygen electrochemistry. The ministry says replacing platinum with inexpensive organic materials could sharply cut the cost of zinc-air cells, helping clean transport, portable power and renewable energy storage.
The reported tests are on zinc-air batteries. The paper calls the material a promising candidate for zinc-air applications. The sources I reviewed do not report performance in hydrogen fuel cells, a manufacturing cost or a commercial partner.
What this means for India
The ministry presents this as work by Indian researchers, and it shows domestic labs contributing to platinum-free clean-energy chemistry. The results are laboratory-scale, so cost and scale-up remain unproven. A separate computational study by IIT Gandhinagar, which identified features of carbon that could yield metal-free catalysts for green hydrogen, was linked by reporters to the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s aim of improving cost and efficiency. Together, the two studies show Indian groups working on alternatives to scarce metals.
What happens next
The step from lab to market usually involves larger cells, longer tests and manufacturing studies, and none of these has been announced. Other groups are also attacking platinum’s cost. In August 2026, researchers at Spain’s IMDEA Materials Institute reported a catalyst that matches performance with 75 per cent less platinum. The Indian approach removes metal from the catalyst altogether.
Sources
- Indian researchers develop metal-free catalyst to replace platinum to cut clean-energy costs (IANS)
- Indian researchers develop metal-free catalyst to replace platinum to cut clean-energy costs (hiindia, IANS copy)
- Metal-free redox active covalent organic frameworks for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (Science Advances)
- Metal-free redox active covalent organic frameworks for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (PubMed)
- IIT Gandhinagar study identifies potential metal-free catalyst for cheaper green hydrogen (BioEnergy Times)
- New catalyst with 75% less platinum promises to reduce the cost of hydrogen fuel cells (Phys.org)
