PNNL: News - Halving hydrogen

PNNL: News - Halving hydrogen

Like a hungry diner ripping open a dinner roll, a fuel cell catalyst that converts hydrogen into electricity must tear open a hydrogen molecule.

Now researchers have captured a view of such a catalyst holding onto the two halves of its hydrogen feast. The view confirms previous hypotheses and provides insight into how to make the catalyst work better for alternative energy uses.

This study is the first time scientists have shown precisely where the hydrogen halves end up in the structure of a molecular catalyst that breaks down hydrogen, the team reported online April 22 in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 

The design of this catalyst was inspired by the innards of a natural protein called a hydrogenase enzyme.

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Neutron crystallography shows this iron catalyst gripping two hydrogen atoms (red spheres). This arrangement allows an unusual dihydrogen bond to form between the hydrogen atoms (red dots).

Newly Discovered Catalyst Could Lead to the Low-Cost, Clean Production of Methanol

An international research team has discovered a potentially clean, low-cost way to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, a key ingredient in the production of plastics, adhesives and solvents, and a promising fuel for transportation.

Scientists from Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Technical University of Denmark combined theory and experimentation to identify a new nickel-gallium catalyst that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methanol with fewer side-products than the conventional catalyst. The results are published in the March 2 online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry.

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Artist's rendering of the nickel-gallium  active site, which synthesizes hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methanol. Nickel atoms are light grey, gallium atoms are dark grey, and oxygen atoms are red. (Credit: Jens Hummelshoj/SLAC)

 

New, Inexpensive Production Materials Boost Promise of Hydrogen Fuel

Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy we can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains.

The trouble with solar fuel production is the cost of producing the sun-capturing semiconductors and the catalysts to generate fuel. The most efficient materials are far too expensive to produce fuel at a price that can compete with gasoline.

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One of the limitations of using sunlight to create fuels like hydrogen has been the high cost of producing the semiconductors and catalysts needed. UW–Madison scientists are making progress on an answer. Photo: Bryce Richter

 

ORNL microscopy system delivers real-time view of battery electrochemistry | ornl.gov

Using a new microscopy method, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory can image and measure electrochemical processes in batteries in real time and at nanoscale resolution.

Scientists at ORNL used a miniature electrochemical liquid cell that is placed in a transmission electron microscope to study an enigmatic phenomenon in lithium-ion batteries called the solid electrolyte interphase, or SEI, as described in a study published in Chemical Communications.

Read more at ORNL Microscopy System Delivers Real-time View of Battery Electrochemistry | ornl.gov

A new in situ transmission electron microscopy technique enabled ORNL researchers to image the snowflake-like growth of the solid electrolyte interphase from a working battery electrode.

 

Researchers Build Nonflammable Lithium Ion Battery

In studying a material that prevents marine life from sticking to the bottom of ships, researchers led by chemist Joseph DeSimone at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a surprising replacement for the only inherently flammable component of today’s lithium-ion batteries: the electrolyte.

The work, published in the Feb. 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paves the way for developing a new generation lithium-ion battery that doesn’t spontaneously combust at high temperatures. 

The discovery also has the potential to renew consumer confidence in a technology that has attracted significant concern—namely, after recent lithium battery fires in Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Tesla Model S vehicles.

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Credit: http://www.unc.edu

Put a plastic bag in your tank: Converting polyethylene waste into liquid fuel

Researchers in India have developed a relatively low-temperature process to convert certain kinds of plastic waste into liquid fuel as a way to re-use discarded plastic bags and other products. 

They report full details next month in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management.

Many pundits describe the present time as the "plastic age" for good reason and as such we generate a lot plastic waste. 

Among that waste is the common polymer, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is used to make many types of container, medical and laboratory equipment, computer components and, of course, plastic bags. Recycling initiatives are in place in many parts of the world, but much of the polyethylene waste ends up in landfill, dispersed in the environment or in the sea.

credit:www.pslc.ws

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