Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new family of materials that use light to produce hydrogen from water, opening the door to new ways of converting the sun’s rays into clean energy.
Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new family of materials that use light to produce hydrogen from water, opening the door to new ways of converting the sun’s rays into clean energy.
A collaboration led by Kyriakos Stylianou of the OSU College of Science created a photocatalyst that enables the high-speed, high-efficiency production of hydrogen, used in fuel cells for cars as well as in the manufacture of many chemicals including ammonia, in the refining of metals and in making plastics.
A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change, Stylianou said. Photocatalysts are materials that absorb light to reach a higher energy level and can use that energy to speed up reactions.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, introduce a potential new tool to use against greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, said Stylianou, whose research focuses on crystalline, porous materials known as metal organic frameworks, or MOFs.
Read More: Oregon State University
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