Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Although it is simple in theory, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is a complex process, requiring two separate reactions — a hydrogen evolution reaction and an oxygen evolution reaction, each requiring a separate electrode.

Discovery could remove hurdle to producing hydrogen from water. University of Houston physicists have discovered a catalyst that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, composed of easily available, low-cost materials and operating far more efficiently than previous catalysts. That would solve one of the primary hurdles remaining in using water to produce hydrogen. The catalyst, composed of ferrous metaphosphate grown on a conductive nickel foam platform, is far more efficient than previous catalysts, as well as less expensive to produce.

“Cost-wise, it is muc...

A custom chamber built by researchers at Rice University allowed them to refine their process for creating laser-induced graphene. Credit: Courtesy of the Tour Group

Rice University scientists who invented laser-induced graphene (LIG) for applications like supercapacitors have now figured out a way to make the spongy graphene either superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic. Until recently, the Rice lab of James Tour made LIG only in open air, using a laser to burn part of the way through a flexible polyimide sheet to get interconnected flakes of graphene. But putting the polymer in a closed environment with various gases changed the product’s properties. Forming LIG in argon or hydrogen makes it superhydrophobic, a property highly valued for separating water from oil or de-icing surfaces...

Particles are pulled out of a dispersion to form a ‘pearl necklace’, by applying an electric field through a needle-shaped electrode. Credit: Ming Han

Rozynek, a researcher at Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna, Poland, demonstrated something that looked almost like magic. When he poked a needle-shaped electrode into a mixture of micron-sized, spherical metal particles dispersed in silicone oil, a sphere stuck to its end. As Rozynek pulled the electrode out of the dispersion, another sphere attached to the first sphere, and then another to the second sphere, and so on, until a long chain formed. “The spheres behaved like magnetic beads, except no magnetism was involved,” said Prof. Luijten, NW McCormick School of Engineering. “The particles have no tendency to cluster...

A hydrogen bond forms between a propellane (lower molecule) and the carbon monoxide functionalized tip of an atomic force microscope. The measured forces and the distance between the oxygen atom at the AFM tip and the propellane’s hydrogen atoms correspond precisely to the calculations. Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics

Scientists have succeeded in studying the strength of hydrogen bonds in a single molecule using an atomic force microscope, AFM. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe and is an integral part of almost all organic compounds. H-bonds are responsible for specific properties of proteins or nucleic acids and, for example, also ensure that water has a high boiling temperature...