Using solar energy to economically harvest hydrogen from water could help replace carbon-based fuel sources and reduce this world’s footprint. However, it has been a practically impossible task for humans to find materials that can boost hydrogen production so that it can compete economically with carbon-based fuels.
In one study, a team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University reports that they have taken a step toward overcoming the challenge of economical hydrogen production by using computers to find materials that could help accelerate the separation of hydrogen when the water is exposed to light. This process is known as photocatalysis.
The importance of hydrogen
Both electricity and solar energy can be used to separate hydrogen from water, which is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Sunlight is used to generate electricity to create hydrogen, which, in turn, would surely be converted back into electricity, may not be advantageous or economically effective.
Although using solar energy to directly produce hydrogen from water avoids this additional step, researchers need to continue to study how to use the direct conversion of solar hydrogen in a way that competes against fuels based on it. carbon, such as gasoline.
The researchers, reporting their findings in the scientific journal Energy and Environmental Science, used a type of computational approach called “high-throughput material screening” to narrow down a list of more than 70,000 different compounds to six promising candidates that, when added to water, it can enable the solar hydrogen production process.
A cheaper form of energy
If this technology could be developed, it would be very economically cheaper. Hydrogen could be produced for $ 1.60, as opposed to gasoline which is worth up to $ 3.20. Therefore, for half the price you could get the same amount of energy with hydrogen as with gasoline for half the price and saving energy, which is beneficial for the environment.
The team used the Roar computer from Pennsylvania State University to do the calculations. Computers are the most important tool in speeding up the process of finding the correct materials that will be used the most in different experiments. In turn, they assure that the use of computers will not replace experimentation, since the computer notifies you which materials are the most promising, but even so, the experimental study must be carried out.
After examining the compounds listed in the Materials Project database, a kind of online open access warehouse of known and anticipated materials, the team developed an algorithm to identify materials with properties that would make them suitable elements for the production process. hydrogen. Materials that could effectively dissociate water were also tested, as well as materials that offered good chemical stability.
The team focused on oxides – chemical compounds made up of at least one oxygen atom – as they can be synthesized in a reasonable amount of time using standard processes. However, they are working with materials other than oxides to see if there are more materials that are used for the production of hydrogen. The work required collaborations from all disciplines, which was something of a learning experience for the research team.
