Eco Factor: Catalyst to replace expensive platinum to generate hydrogen from water.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have developed a new catalyst that can replace the use of expensive platinum to generate hydrogen from water. The new catalyst doesn’t require any organic additives and can operate in neutral water, even if it’s dirty. As an added advantage, the catalyst is seventy times cheaper than platinum.
The basic challenge, according to the researchers, is to create earth abundant molecular systems that produce hydrogen from water with high catalytic activity and stability. The discovery of a molecular molybdenum-oxo catalyst for generating hydrogen from water without the use of additional acids or organic co-solvents establishes a new chemical paradigm for creating reduction catalysts that are highly active and robust in aqueous media.
Via: Gizmag
