TU-TESL

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According to foreign media reports, a team of scientists led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia has demonstrated a cheaper and more sustainable way to produce hydrogen to power hydrogen powered vehicles. (source: University of New South Wales) Sydney University of New South Wales, Griffith University and Swinburne University of Technology Technology) scientists have shown that low-cost catalysts such as iron and nickel can be used to capture hydrogen by separating hydrogen and oxygen from water. Such catalysts not only accelerate the chemical reaction, but also consume less energy. Up to now, it is generally believed that the standard catalysts in the process of "water decomposition" are precious metals such as ruthenium, platinum and iridium, and now the abundant iron and nickel on earth will be able to replace such precious metals. In the process of water decomposition, two electrodes will charge water to separate hydrogen from water, which is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, and become a source of energy, said Chuan, a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales. Professor Zhao said: "we will coat the catalyst on the electrode to reduce energy consumption (because of the acceleration of chemical reaction). On the catalyst, there is a tiny nanometer level interface, which makes iron and nickel atoms meet and become the active sites of water decomposition. As a result, hydrogen can be separated from water for fuel, and oxygen can be released as an environmentally friendly waste. " In 2015, the professor's team developed an electrode, creating a record for the efficiency of oxygen production. However, Professor Zhao said that as far as ferronickel itself is concerned, it is not the best catalyst for the production of hydrogen. However, nano-sized ferronickel can do wonders. The results show that the Ni Fe catalyst is as active as the Pt catalyst in hydrogen production. In addition, nickel iron electrode can catalyze the production of hydrogen and oxygen at the same time. Therefore, it can not only use the abundant elements on the earth to reduce the production cost, but also use one catalyst to complete the task of two catalysts, thus reducing the cost. Take a quick look at current metal prices and you'll see why the technology could become a transformative technology to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy. At present, the price of iron and nickel is US $0.13 (about 0.91 yuan) and US $19.65 (about 137.50 yuan) per kilogram respectively, while the price of ruthenium, platinum and iridium are US $11.77 (about 82.36 yuan), US $42.13 (about 294.81 yuan) and US $69.58 (about 486.89 yuan) per gram, in other words, the price ratio of such precious metals Iron and nickel are thousands of times more expensive. Professor Zhao said that if the water decomposition technology is further developed, there may be a hydrogenation station like today's gas stations, which can use the hydrogen produced by water decomposition reaction to power cars. Compared with lithium, hydrogenation can be completed in a few minutes.