|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
RESEARCHJanuary 23, 2009Aluminum's shape key to making hydrogenPut the right number of atoms in nanoscale specks of aluminum and you're a step closer to being able to cheaply produce hydrogen from water on-the-fly.An analysis of aluminum clusters -- clumps of a dozen or more aluminum atoms -- shows that a cluster's geometry is at least as important as its electronic properties in determining whether it extracts hydrogen from water molecules. It turns out that clusters containing 16, 17 and 18 atoms have irregular shapes that act as chemical catalysts for breaking apart water molecules. The finding could help researchers design nanostructured materials that generate hydrogen from water at room temperature without using energy. A key challenge is making the aluminum catalyst reusable by finding a way to clear the oxygen and hydrogen atoms that stick to the aluminum after the water splitting process. A simple water splitting process using aluminum could provide economical hydrogen to fuel vehicles and fuel cells. Research paper: Complementary Active Sites Cause Size-Selective Reactivity of Aluminum Cluster Anions with Water Science, January 23, 2009 Researchers' homepages: The Castleman Group, Pennsylvania State University Arthur C. Reber Shiv N. Khanna Related stories and briefs: Carbon promises cheap solar hydrogen -- related research Cheap catalyst boosts solar hydrogen prospects -- related research Plant-inspired molecule boosts water splitting -- related research Back to ERN January 26/February 2, 2009 |
ShareFeedsNews | Blog
E-mail headlines Energy-related books and products from Amazon.com |
© Copyright Technology Research News
2008-2010. All rights reserved.
