Researchers from Shaanxi Normal University and Swinburne's Centre for Translational Atomaterials have developed a robust single-atom platinum catalyst that can be triggered by sunlight to produce hydrogen from seawater with high performance , They also developed a prototype device using this catalyst, called "Ocean-H2-Rig". Hydrogen is one of the cleanest fuels. If it is produced from renewable energy sources (such as wind or solar energy), it can become a green transportation fuel, provide electricity to the grid, and offset carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. A floating prototype equipped with a single-atom platinum catalyst can directly generate hydrogen triggered by solar light from sea water. In traditional photocatalysts, electrons and holes are separated under solar radiation, which triggers the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen. The separated electrons and holes have a tendency to recombine, which obviously reduces the photocatalytic activity and reduces the efficiency of hydrogen production. The single atom platinum catalyst developed in this research can effectively extract electrons generated by light, thereby avoiding unnecessary recombination. "In this innovation, we used a monoatomic platinum catalyst as the electron extractor. It is synthesized by a scalable low-cost calcination method, which is easy to mass-produce," Shaanxi Normal University, the first author of the research paper Associate Professor Ma Tianyi said. Professor Baohua Jia, the founding director of the Conversion Atomic Materials Center of Swinburne University of Technology, said, "Single-atom catalysts have the advantages of easy recycling, reuse and green production." Professor Jia said: "Under LED-550 lighting, it can efficiently produce hydrogen with a quantum efficiency of 22.2%, which is one of the best catalysts so far." Associate Professor Ma said: "The high conversion efficiency of solar energy to hydrogen is what we need for industrial applications. We have designed a new prototype device that can float on the surface of the ocean and produce hydrogen directly from seawater." The research paper was published in the International Edition of Angewandte Chemistry. (Original from: Global Hydrogen Energy Network of Fuel Cell Engineering, China New Energy Network) Digital Tape Measure,Laser Measure Tapes,Laser Digital Measure Tape,Digital Display Laser Measure Tapes Shangqiu Hengli Measuring Tools Co.,Ltd , http://www.henglimtools.com
Single atom platinum catalyst helps extract photogenerated electrons