Researchers split water with sunlight for cheaper renewable energy

by William Atkins

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Page 1 of 3 ! The process of photosynthesis that goes on in nature all of the time has been copied artificially by an Australian-American team of scientists. The new process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen could some day make it much less expensive to produce hydrogen as a renewable energy source. The summary of their work is found in the journal Angewandte Chemie under the title of “Sustained Water Oxidation Photocatalysis by a Bioinspired Manganese Cluster.” It was published in the journal on August 18, 2008. Its authors are Robin Brimblecombe (School of Chemistry, Monash University, Victoria, Australia), Gerhard F. Swiegers (Division of Molecular and Health Technologies, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Clayton, Vitoria, Australia), G. Charles Dismukes (Department of Chemistry and Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University, New Jersey, U.S.A.), and Leone Spiccia (School of Chemistry, Monash University, Victoria, Australia). Dr. Leone Spiccia, one of the researchers, states, “We have copied nature, taking the elements and mechanisms found in plant life that have evolved over 3 billion years and recreated one of those processes in the laboratory.” [United Press International: “Scientists use sunlight to split water”] It has been long known that hydrogen makes for a clean ("green") fuel, with only water as a by-product. The creation of hydrogen from water is called electrolysis. Its chemical equation is: 2H2O (water) and energy produces 2H2 (hydrogen gas) and O2 (oxygen gas). The electrolysis of water is accomplished when a electrical direct current (DC) energy source is applied to water. As this happens, hydrogen is directed to a cathode (an electrode through which electricity flows “out” of a polarized electrical device) and oxygen is attracted to an anode (an electrode through which electricity flows “into” a polarized electrical device). The process, thus, splits hydrogen and oxygen apart. The process, however, makes it complicated for hydrogen to be produced primarily because expensive (often times rare) chemicals must be used as the catalyst to produce the chemical reaction. This expense makes it much more difficult for hydrogen to be used successfully as a commercially inexpensive way to power engines and other such devices. However, the way that nature produces hydrogen is much simpler. Most importantly, these Australian and American scientists have found a way to duplicate this natural process. Spiccia states, "[W]e have been able to do the same thing for the first time using just sunlight, an electrical potential of 1.2 volts and the very chemical that nature has selected for this purpose." [United Press International] Please continue on page two. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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