There's still a lot of work to be done for the futuristic visions of the hydrogen economy to take flight. When it comes to one of the biggest challenges, harnessing green hydrogen, scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST) in Korea, along with colleagues, just unveiled a major breakthrough.
The research team's exciting solution to store solar-produced green hydrogen appeared in the Nature Communications journal. The scientists took aim at the significant component of solar-produced hydrogen tech, the photoelectrodes.
Per a news release on the study, the durability of that component has prevented the technology from commercialization. Photoelectrode technology is already effective in separating hydrogen and eventually creating hydrogen fuel. Without proper protective layers, the photoelectrodes corrode during the process and fail within five hours, according to the release.
The researchers solved that conundrum with inspiration from the semiconductor industry. They paired polyethyleneimine polymer (PEI) with titanium dioxide (TiO2) to create a protective layer. The layer provided a barrier against negatively charged electrons while allowing positively charged particles to go through, according to the news report.
UNIST's solution displayed game-changing results in the study, staying stable for a remarkable 400 hours. The team also touted the material as versatile and capable of use with multiple types of photoelectrodes.
"This study represents a significant breakthrough in developing low-cost, high-stability solar water decomposition technology," said Professor Jungki Ryu, a UNIST researcher.
The prospect of hydrogen fuel is tantalizing. When used in a fuel cell, it emits harmless water vapors instead of planet-warming pollutants like dirty energy. There are already a number of exciting hydrogen-powered projects in place — from commercial vehicles to record-setting rescue trucks and ships.
The end case of minimal or no pollution while using the fuel is great, but to be truly environmentally friendly, there needs to be major advancements in green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated not from dirty energy, as 95% of hydrogen fuel is now, according to the World Resources Institute.
There are many efforts to effectively generate and store green hydrogen worldwide. Those include initiatives like storing the fuel in caverns and reservoirs, tapping into tech that fits into shipping containers, cooling the gas cheaply, and innovating on green hydrogen production.
🗣️ Do you think we should deal with air pollution by burying things underground?
🔘 Sounds great 👍
🔘 No way 👎
🔘 Only for certain waste 🤔
🔘 I'm not sure 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
The UNIST-led work could help optimize green hydrogen solar production.
"It is expected to facilitate advancements in other photoelectrochemical cells that produce high-value resources from solar energy," Ryu said.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
