A group of scientists at Singapore’s National University of Science and Technology (NUS) made an unexpected scientific discovery that could change the way water is broken down to make hydrogen gas, which is used in many industrial processes.
The team, led by Associate Professor Xue Jun Min, Dr. Wang Xiaopeng, and Dr. Vincent Lee Wee Siang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the NUS College of Design and Engineering (NUS CDE), discovered that light can initiate a new mechanism in a catalytic material that is widely used in water electrolysis, the process by which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. The end result is a generate hydrogen more efficiently with production process that uses less energy.
Together, Dr. Xi Shibo from A*STAR’s Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy, and Environment, Dr. Yu Zhigen from A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing, and Dr. Wang Hao from the NUS CDE’s Department of Mechanical Engineering made this discovery.
According to Associate Professor Xue, “We found that the redox center for the electro-catalytic process is shifted between metal and oxygen, induced by light.” “This significantly increases the efficiency of water electrolysis.”
The new discovery may pave the way for new and improved industrial processes for generate hydrogen more efficiently, bringing this sustainable fuel source within the reach of more individuals and businesses.
On October 26, 2022, Associate Prof. Xue and his team published a research paper in the academic journal Nature about what they had found.
The unintentional discovery
Normally, Assoc Prof Xue and his group might not have been able to make such a significant finding. But almost three years ago, they were able to witness something that the rest of the world’s scientific community had not yet been able to achieve thanks to an unintentional power outage of his lab’s ceiling lights.
At that time, Assoc Prof Xue’s research lab’s ceiling lights were typically left on all day. The lights went out one evening in 2019 owing to a power trip. When the researchers came back the next day, they found that the performance of a nickel oxyhydroxide-based material in the water electrolysis experiment, which had been going on in the dark, had dropped by a lot.
According to Associate Prof Xue, no one has ever conducted the experiment in the dark, thus no one has ever detected this decline in performance. Additionally, according to the research, a material of this type shouldn’t be sensitive to light or allow light to affect its characteristics in any way.
The electro-catalytic mechanism of water electrolysis has been extensively studied, and nickel-based materials are frequently used as catalysts. Therefore, Assoc Prof Xue and his colleagues conducted a number of repeated experiments to demonstrate that they were about to make a ground-breaking discovery. They looked more closely at the mechanisms underlying such a behavior. To be sure that their results were consistent, they even conducted the experiment again outside of Singapore.
After waiting three years, Associate Professor Xue and his group were finally able to publish their findings in a journal.
Next actions
With their findings in hand, the team is currently devising a fresh approach to enhance industrial processes that generate hydrogen more efficiently . Associate Professor Xue suggests making the water-filled cells see-through so that light can get into the process of splitting water.
Using natural light should make the electrolysis process easier and use less energy, according to Assoc Prof Xue. “With less energy used, more hydrogen may be created in a shorter period of time.”
Unsaturated oils and fats are converted into saturated ones by food firms using hydrogen gas, giving us margarine and butter. Due to its ability to produce a temperature as high as 4,000 degrees Celsius, hydrogen is also utilized to join metals. The oil industry uses the gas to get rid of the sulfur in the oil.
Hydrogen may also be utilized as fuel in the future. Since hydrogen fuel burns without emitting any emissions when combined with oxygen, it is a cleaner and greener fuel source. Hydrogen fuel has long been hailed as a sustainable fuel. Not only is it more reliable than solar batteries, but it is also easier to store.
The fact that the research findings of Assoc Prof Xue’s team could further knowledge makes him happy. According to him, pushing the boundaries consistently is the best method to advance research rather than continually coming up with new ways to carry out what has already been done.
We can only gradually improve society by accumulating fresh knowledge, according to Assoc Prof Xue.
