14 DAY TRIAL // An international group of investigators, led by scientists with the School of Engineering at the Stanford University, announce the development of an advanced catalyst that can be used for boosting the efficiency of molecular hydrogen (H2) production. This development will enable the cheaper, more environmentally-friendly extraction of H2 from sources such as natural gas.
Hydrogen is seldom found as pure gas H2 in nature. Most often, it can be encountered in water, where it is bound to oxygen, and in methane, where it is bound to carbon. Separating these chemicals is usually a very energy-intensive process that denies the benefits of using hydrogen instead of other fuels in the first place.
H2 is currently used for a wide variety of applications, ranging from producing fertilizers and pesticides to manufacturing gasoline out of crude oil. Most often, molecular hydrogen gas is nowadays produced by breaking apart methane in natural, thus producing large amounts of carbon dioxide.
In the new study, Stanford experts, working with colleagues at the Aarhus University in Denmark, were able to develop a new way of breaking the bonds between H2 and oxygen in water, by using an advanced catalyst. Their work is detailed in the January 26 issue of the top journal Nature Chemistry.
Water is usually separated into its constituent elements – hydrogen and oxygen – through a process called electrolysis, which relies on applying electrical currents to the liquid via a series of immersed electrodes. These electrodes basically act as a chemical catalysts for the reaction.
Unfortunately, the best catalyst for electrolysis is platinum, one of the most expensive elements on Earth today. Producing 55 billion kilograms (121.2 billion pounds) of H2, the world's yearly requirement, through platinum-catalyzed reactions is absolutely impossible from a financial standpoint.
The research team was able to get past the price hurdle by re-engineering the atomic structure of molybdenum sulfide, a material that has been used by petroleum engineers to refine crude oil since World War II, e! Science News reports.
The group says that molybdenum sulfide can now be arranged into nanoscale clusters, which are then deposited on highly-conducting graphite. This arrangement has in the new study proven to be an effective substitute for the expensive platinum-based catalysts.
“There are many pieces of the puzzle still needed to make this work, and much effort ahead to realize them. However, we can get huge returns by moving from carbon-intensive resources to renewable, sustainable technologies to produce the chemicals we need for food and energy,” concludes Stanford assistant professor of chemical engineering, Thomas Jaramillo.