hydrogen fuel tagged posts

Quantum materials could enable the solar-powered production of hydrogen from water

Quantum materials could enable the solar-powered production of hydrogen from water
Structural characterizations of InGaN/GaN SLs. Credit: Pan et al. (Nature Energy, 2026).

Hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels that only emits water vapor when used and could thus help to lower greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. In the future, it could potentially be used to fuel heavy-duty transport vehicles, such as trucks, trains, and ships, as well as industrial heating and decentralized power generation systems.

Unfortunately, most current methods to produce hydrogen rely on the burning of fossil fuels, which limits its environmental advantages. Given its potential, many energy engineers worldwide have been trying to devise more sustainable strategies to produce hydrogen on a large scale.

One proposed method for the clean production of hydrogen is known as...

Read More

Double-duty Catalyst generates Hydrogen Fuel while Cleaning up Wastewater

031721-energy
A newly developed catalyst can destroy medications and other compounds present in wastewater to generate hydrogen fuel.
Credit: Dmitri Ma/Shutterstock.com

Hydrogen is a pollution-free energy source when it’s extracted from water using sunlight instead of fossil fuels. But current strategies for “splitting” or breaking apart water molecules with catalysts and light require the introduction of chemical additives to expedite the process. Now, researchers reporting in ACS ES&T Engineering have developed a catalyst that destroys medications and other compounds already present in wastewater to generate hydrogen fuel, getting rid of a contaminant while producing something useful.

Harnessing the sun’s energy to split water to make hydrogen fuel is a promising renewable resource, but it is a ...

Read More

Water-Splitting Module a Source of Perpetual Energy

A schematic and electron microscope cross-section show the structure of an integrated, solar-powered catalyst to split water into hydrogen fuel and oxygen. The module developed at Rice University can be immersed into water directly to produce fuel when exposed to sunlight. Illustration by Jia Liang

‘Artificial leaf’ concept inspires research into solar-powered fuel production. Rice University researchers have created an efficient, low-cost device that splits water to produce hydrogen fuel.

The platform developed by the Brown School of Engineering lab of Rice materials scientist Jun Lou integrates catalytic electrodes and perovskite solar cells that, when triggered by sunlight, produce electricity...

Read More

Jiggly Jell-O to make Powerful new Hydrogen Fuel Catalyst

An illustration shows hydrogen gas bubbling off of a sheet of metal carbide

Two-dimensional metal carbides spark a reaction that splits water into oxygen and valuable hydrogen gas. Berkeley researchers have discovered an easy new recipe for cooking up these nanometer-thin sheets that is nearly as simple as making Jell-O from a box. (Xining Zang graphic, copyright Wiley)

The inexpensive new material can split water just as efficiently as costly platinum. A cheap and effective new catalyst developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, can generate hydrogen fuel from water just as efficiently as platinum, currently the best – but also most expensive – water-splitting catalyst out there.

The catalyst, which is composed of nanometer-thin sheets of metal carbide, is manufactured using a self-assembly process that relies on a surprising ingredien...

Read More