Splitting Water Atoms



 Earth needs clean fuel sources. Sources like hydrogen are meant to aid us toward carbon neutrality. A team in Tokyo has picked up the eco-torch. 

Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Science and Mitsubishi Materials Cooperation have had a break through. The team has improved the efficency of a photocatalytic reaction that splits water into hydrogen. 

Professor Yuichi Negishi is from Tohoku University. He is lead researcher on this project. He reports, "Water-splitting photocatalysts can produce hydrogen from only sunlight and water. However, the process hasn't been optimized sufficiently for practical applications. If we can improve the activity, hydrogen can be harnessed for the realization of a next generation energy society."

These scientists have found a new method that uses ultra fine rhodium-chromium mixed oxide cocatalysts. The actual reaction site is in the cocatalysts, and is an important part of stoping hydrogen from reforming with oxygen to make water.

Cocatalysts have a particle size of about 1nm. Loaded cystal facets are placed onto a photocatalyst that uses sunlight and water to speed up reactions. 

The work was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. 

For the first time, scientists were able to place the tiny cocatalyst on specific regions of the photocatalyst. An ultra small particle size is important. This is because the activity per amount of cocatalyst loaded is significantly more, due to the increase in specific surface area of the cocatalyst. 

The urgent need for clean and sustainable fuel continues. This remarkable method has improved the ability to create hydrogen without harmful by-products like carbon dioxide. 

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