Hydrogen, one of the best bets for future fuels, has long faced the downside due to the high costs for its production, either by using platinum as catalyst, or from fossil fuels, which has always 'fueled' the research to find a cheaper way to get these tiny gaseous molecules. But now, University of Cambridge researchers have found a cheap volunteer for this - the humble cobalt!
It was found that Cobalt catalyzes production of hydrogen in pH neutral water at room temperature, in the presence of oxygen. Dr Erwin Reisner said , "Until now, no inexpensive molecular catalyst was known to evolve H2 efficiently in water and under aerobic conditions. However, such conditions are essential for use in developing green hydrogen as a future energy source under industrially relevant conditions."
The research was funded by EPSRC, the Christian Doppler Research Association and the OMV Group. Their research was published today, 23 August, online in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
At the same time, researchers are working on solar water splitting technology, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight, with some optimistic results.
Though there is a slight problem with Cobalt - its relative instability, which is a major hurdle in this process.
Though even if this is countered, don't expect to see hydrogen powered supercars soon, as there is yet to be found a credible storage technology for the gas, as a fuel. Though graphene and sodium borohydride- Nickel combination are some good options researched as of yet. So optimistic we are, for a more 'energetic' future.
Source : University of Cambridge
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