Researchers split water into hydrogen, oxygen using light, nanoparticles
Dec. 15, 2013 — Researchers from the University of Houston have found a catalyst that can quickly generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, potentially creating a clean and renewable source of energy.
Share This:
Their research, published online Sunday in Nature Nanotechnology, involved the use of cobalt oxide nanoparticles to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Jiming Bao, lead author of the paper and an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UH, said the research discovered a new photocatalyst and demonstrated the potential of nanotechnology in engineering a material's property, although more work remains to be done.
Bao said photocatalytic water-splitting experiments have been tried since the 1970s, but this was the first to use cobalt oxide and the first to use neutral water under visible light at a high energy conversion efficiency without co-catalysts or sacrificial chemicals. The project involved researchers from UH, along with those from Sam Houston State University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Texas State University, Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, and Sichuan University.
Researchers prepared the nanoparticles in two ways, using femtosecond laser ablation and through mechanical ball milling. Despite some differences, Bao said both worked equally well.
Different sources of light were used, ranging from a laser to white light simulating the solar spectrum. He said he would expect the reaction to work equally well using natural sunlight.
Once the nanoparticles are added and light applied, the water separates into hydrogen and oxygen almost immediately, producing twice as much hydrogen as oxygen, as expected from the 2:1 hydrogen to oxygen ratio in H2O water molecules, Bao said.
The experiment has potential as a source of renewable fuel, but at a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency rate of around 5 percent, the conversion rate is still too low to be commercially viable. Bao suggested a more feasible efficiency rate would be about 10 percent, meaning that 10 percent of the incident solar energy will be converted to hydrogen chemical energy by the process.
Other issues remain to be resolved, as well, including reducing costs and extending the lifespan of cobalt oxide nanoparticles, which the researchers found became deactivated after about an hour of reaction.
"It degrades too quickly," said Bao, who also has appointments in materials engineering and the Department of Chemistry.
The work, supported by the Welch Foundation, will lead to future research, he said, including the question of why cobalt oxide nanoparticles have such a short lifespan, and questions involving chemical and electronic properties of the material.
Welcome to SUV System Ltd!
SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.
We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.
SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com
Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com
Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html
IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html
LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html
Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html
Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html
Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html
Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html
SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc
we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.
Resistor Arrays NEC Transistors Vishay resistors MURATA IC Transistors Freescale NXP Transistors Other Parts PANASONIC Bipolar Transistors ROHM Resistors Schottky Diodes Diodes High Precision Resistors Diodes Inc Dialight LED Fleld Effect Transistors TDK IC MOTOROLA IC Atmel IC Switching Diodes LITTELFUSE Diodes SANYO IC Low Ohmic Resistors IR transistor Texas Instruments(TI) IC HARRIS IC Thin Film Resistors ON Diodes Resistor Networks VISHAY IC Chip Fuses LED Switches Cypress IC TOSHIBA Diodes Microchip IC ST Transistors Renesas parts IC TI IC AVX Resistors
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/8172.aspx
