hydrogen splitting fuel
hydrogen splitting fuel

hydrogen-splitting-fuel

Hydrogen comes as the cleanest-fuel today, but was not harboured to its full potential as refining hydrogen gas was not economical.

During the times when there is a hue and cry everywhere over clean fuel, Stanford Univerity scientists have come up with a low-cost water splitter that uses a single catalyst to produce both hydrogen and oxygen gas 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

According to a researcher Yi Cui:

We have developed a low-voltage, single-catalyst water splitter that continuously generates hydrogen and oxygen for more than 200 hours, an exciting world-record performance

In the previous methods, hydrogen was extracted either from the fossils or separated from water. From the water, hydrogen is obtained by a catalytic reaction collecting oxygen on one electrode and hydrogen on other. Both the electrodes are embedded with costly metals, typically platinum and iridium.

Cui added that they had built a unique water splitter which on both the electrodes, uses only one catalyst, nickel-iron oxide. The bifunctional catalyst split water continuously for more than a week with an input of just 1.5 volts electricity. The device has worked brilliantly with the water splitting efficiency of 82%.

The important thing to note here is that it does not require separating barrier for its electrolytes as it uses only one for both the electrodes.

The scientists have chosen metals as Nickle and Iron because they can catalyse both the Hydrogen and Oxygen reaction. As they are relatively cheaper, and also with their technique,

As they are relatively cheaper, and also with their technique, number of electrodes used is reduced.

If this technology becomes commercially available then it would be a huge step in curbing pollution and the resultant Global Warming.

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Also read: NASA’s Physics Violating Impossible Engine Closer to Reality after New Tests

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