Raphael ThysProducing clean energy hydrogen has been a pipe dream for researchers for decades. But most of the previous methods tried were too cumbersome, costly, and produced harmful emissions. That tide is beginning to turn now as scientists begin to find less costly and more efficient ways of producing clean hydrogen — and its great potential as a reliable clean source of fuel might be edging closer to fruition. I talked about one such breakthrough study earlier, where researchers were able to simplify the water-splitting reaction.
While the above-mentioned research aims to simplify how to derive clean hydrogen, the one we are going to talk about today adds the dimension of abundance to it. For the first time ever, Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a nanoscale material that can efficiently split seawater into oxygen and clean energy hydrogen.
The novel material offers the high performance and stability needed for industrial-scale electrolysis in this process. If the researchers are able to perfect the extraction of this form of renewable energy, it could provide a great tool for combating climate change — one of the biggest existential threats faced by humanity currently.
“The seawater electrolysis performance achieved by the dual-doped film far surpasses those of the most recently reported, state-of-the-art electrolysis catalysts and meets the demanding requirements needed for practical application in the industries,”~ Yang Yang, Study Co-Author
As suggested by the study co-author, Hydrogen could be converted into electricity to use in fuel cell technology that generates water as a product — thus creating a sustainable energy cycle. For this study, researchers developed a thin-film material with nanostructures on the surface made of nickel selenide, with added, or “doped,” iron and phosphor.
The researchers developed a stable, and long-lasting nanoscale material to catalyze the electrolysis reaction, shown here — Image Credit: UCF
This combination of materials basically offers the high performance and stability that are needed for industrial-scale electrolysis. On previous occasions, it has been difficult to accomplish this since competing reactions have lowered the efficiency. However, the novel material balances these competing reactions resulting in low-cost and higher performance.
In the resulting trials conducted, the setup achieved the desired long-term stability and high efficiency for more than 200 hours. Researchers expect to continue their work towards improving the electrical efficiency of the materials further, apart from seeking increased funding to scale up the work for commercial applications in the future.
Complete Research was published in the Journal of Advanced Materials.