https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/h ... ste/46464/
A team of scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry and Faculty of Engineering have found a way to facilitate sustainable hydrogen production from metal waste.
In new research, the team found that the surface of swarf, a byproduct of the metal machinery industry, is textured with tiny grooves and steps on a nanoscale level. These textures can anchor atoms of platinum or cobalt. This leads to an efficient electrocatalyst that can make hydrogen more sustainable by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Professor Andrei Khlobystov, School of Chemistry, said: “Our unique technology developed at Nottingham, which involves atom-by-atom growth of platinum particles on nanotextured surfaces, has solved two major challenges. “Firstly, it enables the production of green hydrogen using the least amount of precious metal possible, and secondly, it upcycles metal waste from the aerospace industry, all in a single process.” The group will partner with AqSorption Ltd, a Nottingham-based company specialising in electrolyser design and fabrication, to scale up their technology. The new work represents a step forward in reducing reliance on expensive metals for hydrogen production.
