Catalyst Suggests An Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Way to Produce Molecular Hydrogen

March 4, 2014- Although hydrogen is an abundant element, its presence as a pure gas H2 is rare. Creating H2 from natural gas is expensive and consumes large amounts of energy while releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

Now comes news that researchers have discovered a new catalyst for creating molecular hydrogen, paving the way toward an environmentally friendly alternative to the manufacture of fertilizer and refining crude oil into gasoline.

In a recent article on a new nanotechnology technique in the manufacture of H2, ScienceDaily.com reported on results published by the Stanford School of Engineering and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) at Aarhus, Denmark, published in Nature Chemistry. The study calls for more research into how to feasibly produce hydrogen in factory-scale electrolysis facilities.

Here are some of the highlights from the ScienceDaily article:

- The science involves using electrolysis to liberate hydrogen from water on an industrial scale. The researchers created a moly sulfide nanoclusters on a graphite surface. Acting as an electrode, the catalytic surface then acts spurs the reaction.

- Platinum would be the element of choice for the electrolysis of water, but its market price makes the approach prohibitive. The moly sulfide nanocluster material was re-engineered from cheap and common industrial materials, yet efficient at the electrolysis of water.

- The researchers found a way to re-arrange atoms on the surface of moly sulfide in such a way that bonds formed to two molybdenum atoms instead of the normal three bonds. This configuration allows for effective formation of H2 under electrolysis. The moly sulfide nanoclusters were created from simple chemistry and then deposited on a sheet of graphite, a good conductor of electricity.

- Making the water slightly acidified allowed for efficiencies that approached reactions using platinum. The researchers are now looking to scale the technology in hopes of creating a renewable, sustainable means of satisfying the 55 billion kilograms per year global demand for molecular hydrogen.

Read the full ScienceDaily post here. 

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