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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Energy: Fossil Fuels

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Hydrogen spillover is exactly what it sounds like. Small metal nanoparticles anchored on a thermally stable oxide, like silica, comprise a major class of catalysts, which are substances used to accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed themselves. The catalytic reaction usually occurs on the reactive -- and expensive -- metal, but on some catalysts, hydrogen atom-like equivalents literally spill from the metal to the oxide. These hydrogen-on-oxide species are called 'hydrogen spillover.'

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Molecular photoswitches that can both convert and store energy could be used to make solar energy harvesting more efficient. A team of researchers has used a quantum computing method to find a particularly efficient molecular structure for this purpose. Their procedure was based on a dataset of more than 400,000 molecules, which they screened to find the optimum molecular structure for solar energy storage materials.

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Methylcyclohexane is very promising as a hydrogen carrier that can safely and efficiently transport and store hydrogen. However, the dehydrogenation process using catalysts has issues due to its durability and large energy loss. Recently, researchers have succeeded in using solid oxide fuel cells to generate electricity directly from methylcyclohexane and recover toluene for reuse. This research is expected to not only reduce energy requirements but also explore new chemical synthesis by fuel cells.

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A team of researchers is designing novel systems to capture water vapor in the air and turn it into liquid. They have developed sponges or membranes with a large surface area that continually capture moisture from their surrounding environment.

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Mathematical modeling can show how to safely blend hydrogen with natural gas for transport in existing pipeline systems. A secure and reliable transition to hydrogen is one of the proposed solutions for the shift to a net-zero-carbon economy.

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If coal and natural gas power generation were 2% more efficient, then, every year, there could be 460 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide released and 2 trillion fewer gallons of water used. A recent innovation to the steam cycle used in fossil fuel power generation could achieve this.

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In the ongoing quest for more efficient solar cells, the most current published record for tandem perovskite solar cells is 32.5 percent. In a new paper, researchers report on the improvements in silicon-perovskite tandem cells that have made this possible.

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The world needs greener ways to make chemicals. In a new study, researchers demonstrate one potential path toward this goal by adapting hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

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New research reveals a promising breakthrough in green energy: an electrolyzer device capable of converting carbon dioxide into propane in a manner that is both scalable and economically viable.

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In an experiment on how turbulent boundary layers respond to acceleration in the flow around them, aerospace engineers at the observed an unexpected internal boundary layer.

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A new analysis reveals that soft technology, the processes to design and deploy a solar energy system, contributed far less to the total cost declines of solar installations than previously estimated. Their quantitative model shows that driving down solar energy costs in the future will likely require either improving soft technology or reducing system dependencies on soft technology features.

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Expensive noble metals often play a vital role in illuminating screens or converting solar energy into fuels. Now, chemists have succeeded in replacing these rare elements with a significantly cheaper metal. In terms of their properties, the new materials are very similar to those used in the past.

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Gold (Au)-based electrocatalysts used for hydrogen production via water electrolysis exhibit high chemical stability but low hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Alloying them with nickel (Ni) can improve their HER activity. A recent study investigated the HER activity and surface properties of AuNi alloy prepared on single crystal Au surfaces, revealing the atomic structural changes and surface sites responsible for enhanced HER activity of AuNi/Au catalyst during electrolysis.

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A research team recently developed a stable artificial photocatalytic system that is more efficient than natural photosynthesis. The new system mimics a natural chloroplast to convert carbon dioxide in water into methane, a valuable fuel, very efficiently using light. This is a promising discovery, which could contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality.

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Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.

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Researchers are making progress on the design of a solar battery made from an abundant, non-toxic and easily synthesized material composed of 2D carbon nitride.

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Heat load mitigation is critical to extending the lifetime of future fusion device. Researchers have found a way to explain the rotational temperatures measured in three different experimental fusion devices in Japan and the United States. Their model evaluates the surface interactions and electron-proton collisions of hydrogen molecules.

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Chemists have demonstrated that water remediation can be powered in part -- and perhaps even exclusively -- by renewable energy sources.

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Engineers have created a device that turns sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency by integrating next-generation halide perovskite semiconductors with electrocatalysts in a single, durable, cost-effective and scalable device.

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A bifacial perovskite solar cell, which allows sunlight to reach both sides of the device, holds the potential to produce higher energy yields at lower overall costs.