A radical new process that allows hydrogen to be efficiently sourced from liquid formic acid could be one step forward in making the dream of hydrogen-powered cars an economic reality.
Using formic acid to produce hydrogen has never been considered viable because it requires high temperatures to decompose and also produces waste by-products.
But the University of Melbourne’s Professor Richard O’Hair has led an international team of scientists in designing a molecular catalyst that forces formic acid to produce only hydrogen and carbon dioxide and at a low temperature of only 70°C.
Professor O’Hair, from the University’s School of Chemistry and Bio21 Institute, worked in collaboration with Professors Philippe Dugourd (from the University of Lyon), Philippe Maitre (University of Paris South), Bona?i?-Koutecky? (Humboldt-University Berlin) and Dr. Roger Mulder (CSIRO Manufacturing) for the study.
It marks a new frontier in catalyst design at the molecular level. Such catalysts are formulated to produce highly selective chemical reactions.
“One of the grand challenges for chemists today is to develop perfect chemical reactions that proceed with 100 per cent yield and 100 per cent selectivity without forming any waste products,” Professor O’Hair said.
“With formic acid, the aim was to transform it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which could really lend itself to the important practical applications of hydrogen energy in the transport sector.”
While the study successfully produces hydrogen and CO2, the ultimate aim of future research will be to ensure any derivative source of hydrogen produces zero emissions.
Using a suite of powerful gas-phase techniques, the research team designed a series of silver complexes and examined their reactions with formic acid.
The team was able to identify and orchestrate the exact catalyst that would effectively manipulate a strict hydrogen/carbon dioxide-only production.
Mr Athanasios Zavras, the study’s first author and PhD student at the University of Melbourne, said having the initial gas-phase results validated using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instrument was an exciting moment.
“We were glued to our seats that day,” he said.
“I prepared solutions containing well-defined amounts of the same silver, salt and ligand combination and these were studied with a NMR that allowed us to incrementally increase the temperature from 25°C and track the formation of products.
“There was no reaction for a while, but we persevered and at 70°C, we unequivocally identified the production of hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide.
“It was an extremely exciting moment.”
One of the major challenges as the world moves towards hydrogen power is the lack of refueling infrastructure, but which the researchers say could easily be overcome if one day the industry moves to using liquid formic acid.
But Professor O’Hair notes that while the new catalyst design is an important step forward in addressing our hydrogen energy needs, there are still many barriers to overcome, such as the production of carbon dioxide and how it could potentially be recycled to regenerate formic acid.
Learn more: New molecular design to get hydrogen-powered cars motoring
The Latest on: Hydrogen-powered cars
[google_news title=”” keyword=”hydrogen-powered cars” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Hydrogen-powered cars
- China achieves milestone in transportation sector with development of 100kg liquid hydrogen system for carson May 12, 2024 at 6:05 am
According to reports from the Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) on Sunday, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced a significant ...
- Students build prototype of world's first hydrogen-powered engine: 'A very significant milestone'on May 12, 2024 at 2:00 am
"We started by reading all of the research and literature we could find, analyzing and cataloguing it all." Students build prototype of world's first hydrogen-powered engine: 'A very significant ...
- The Future of Fast? Alpine Debuts Hydrogen-Powered Sports Caron May 11, 2024 at 6:29 pm
Forget electric cars, this Alpine sports car runs on something completely different: hydrogen! Instead of a battery, it has a hydrogen combustion engine that burns hydrogen gas to create power. This ...
- Alpine Alpenglow HY4 prototype showcases hydrogen-burning engineon May 11, 2024 at 5:00 am
Renault-owned Alpine unveiled a hydrogen-burning concept called Alpenglow HY4 to preview technology it could use in some of its road cars.
- Alpine reveals Alpenglow Hy4 hydrogen-powered sports car concept: Check featureson May 10, 2024 at 9:28 pm
Design modifications in the Alpenglow Hy4. The design of the Hy4 has been altered from its original Alpenglow concept, to fit a two-seat cabin and embed the hydrogen tanks into si ...
- Alpine Hy4 Is A Race Car That Burns Hydrogen Instead Of Gasolineon May 10, 2024 at 12:36 pm
French sports car maker Alpine has revealed a racing prototype powered by an internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen instead of gasoline. Called the Alpenglow Hy4, on account of its ...
- Alpine reveals Alpenglow hypercar powered by hydrogen engineon May 10, 2024 at 2:30 am
French performance marque Alpine has revealed the updated version of its Alpenglow hypercar concept that will take to Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps racetrack on Saturday.
- Alpine Reveals Updated Alpenglow Hydrogen Concepton May 10, 2024 at 2:27 am
Alpine has revealed an updated version of its hydrogen-powered Alpenglow concept car that will perform a demonstration run ahead of this weekend’s Spa round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
- Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 Is 2022’s Hydrogen-Powered Concept Made Realon May 9, 2024 at 10:14 pm
The inline four spins to 7,000 rpm and Alpine says gives the Alpenglow performance equivalent to a petrol-powered car, including a 168 mph (270 kmh) top speed. Although this engine is adapted from an ...
- The World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Superyacht Sets Sailon May 7, 2024 at 1:38 pm
The ship is partly powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which generate power through a chemical reaction rather than combustion. Many cars make use of this technology, but this is a first for superyachts. ...
via Bing News