efficient catalysts tagged posts

The new catalyst ‘splits’ water molecules to obtain hydrogen and oxygen with very low voltages. Credit: ICIQ

The new sustainable catalyst ‘splits’ water molecules to obtain hydrogen and oxygen needs very low voltages to work, and avoids the use of precious metals like iridium. Electrolysis, splitting the water molecule with electricity, is the cleanest way to obtain hydrogen, a clean and renewable fuel. Now, researchers at ICIQ and URV, led by Prof. José Ramón Galán-Mascarós, designed a new catalyst that reduces the cost of electrolytic hydrogen production. Catalysts reduce the amount of electricity needed to break the chemical bonds, speed up the reaction and minimise the energy waste.

‘Normally, hydrogen is obtained from using a cheap process called steam reforming...

Highly ordered sodium silicate particles (bottom right) with a regular array of spherical pores (bottom left) form on silicon surface. The one-step synthesis is directed by the atomic ordering of the substrate, which induces the formation of a soft template for sodium silicate growth. Sodium silicate, in turn, modifies the structure of the soft template during growth, encapsulating it within its structure (top). Credit: Image courtesy of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

To create more efficient catalysts, sensing and separation membrane, and energy storage devices, scientists often start with particles containing tiny pore channels. Defects between the particles can hamper performance...