A cheap method to produce hydrogen fuel with the help of carbon nanotubes

The new technology is based on an innovative catalyst whose performance level is almost identical to the performance level of the expensive platinum catalyst used in electrolysis reactions, during which an electric current splits water molecules into its separate components - hydrogen and oxygen.

Researchers have succeeded in developing a technology that can overcome a considerable economic barrier to the preparation of clean-burning hydrogen fuel - a type of fuel that can convert the expensive and environmentally harmful fossil fuels. The new technology is based on an innovative catalyst whose performance level is almost identical to the performance level of the expensive platinum catalyst used in electrolysis reactions, during which an electric current splits water molecules into its separate components - hydrogen and oxygen.

The innovative technology of the researchers from Rutgers University is also much more efficient than other cheap catalysts that have been studied and tried in the field. The new technology, based on carbon nanotubes, ensures efficient production of hydrogen from water.

"Energy researchers have long predicted that hydrogen will play a crucial role in our future energy by reducing, if not eliminating, our dependence on fossil fuels," said Teddy Espa, professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. "We have succeeded in developing a sustainable chemical catalyst that will hopefully, with the help of the right business partner from industry, advance this vision."

He and his research team based the development of the new catalyst on carbon nanotubes - sheets of carbon one atom thick that are rolled to form tubes 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Finding new ways to develop economically applicable electrolysis reactions is an important issue since the processes used today to produce hydrogen all start from methane gas - which itself is a fossil fuel. The need to use fossil fuel therefore negates the claim that hydrogen is a completely "green" fuel.

In contrast, electrolysis is able to produce hydrogen using electricity obtained from renewable sources, such as the sun, wind and hydropower, or using carbon-free sources, such as nuclear energy. And even if fossil fuels were used for the electrolysis, the increased efficiency and better control of emissions from large power plants could give hydrogen fuel cells an advantage over the gasoline and diesel engines found in millions of vehicles, which are less efficient and more polluting fuels.

In a scientific paper published long ago in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, the team of researchers reported that their technology, called "nitrogen-rich, noble-metal-free carbon nanotubes" manages to efficiently catalyze the hydrogen production reaction at a performance level close to that of platinum. In addition, the nanotubes perform well under acidic, natural or basic conditions, allowing them to be conjugated to the best available catalysts for the production of oxygen, which also play a crucial role in the water splitting reaction. The researchers have applied for a patent for the innovative catalyst.

 

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