Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ENERGY TECH
Cobalt film a clean-fuel find
by Staff Writers
Houston TX (SPX) Apr 22, 2015


A side view of a porous cobalt phosphide/phosphate thin film was created at Rice University. The robust film could replace expensive metals like platinum in water-electrolysis devices that produce hydrogen and oxygen for fuel cells. The scale bar equals 500 nanometers. Image courtesy Tour Group/Rice University. For a larger version of this image please go here.

A cobalt-based thin film serves double duty as a new catalyst that produces both hydrogen and oxygen from water to feed fuel cells, according to scientists at Rice University.

The inexpensive, highly porous material invented by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour may have advantages as a catalyst for the production of hydrogen via water electrolysis. A single film far thinner than a hair can be used as both the anode and cathode in an electrolysis device.

The researchers led by Rice postdoctoral researcher Yang Yang reported their discovery today in Advanced Materials.

They determined their cobalt film is much better at producing hydrogen than most state-of-the-art materials and is competitive with (and much cheaper than) commercial platinum catalysts. They reported the catalyst also produced an oxygen evolution reaction comparable to current materials.

"It is amazing that in water-splitting, the same material can make both hydrogen and oxygen," Tour said. "Usually materials make one or the other, but not both."

The researchers suggested applying alternating current from wind or solar energy sources to cobalt-based electrolysis could be an environmentally friendly source of hydrogen and oxygen.

"Here we can just alternate the current from positive to negative and back again, and hydrogen and oxygen are made with the same material," Tour said. "And the material itself is very easy to make." He said manufacturing the film is inexpensive and scalable.

The lab fabricated the 500-nanometer films by anodyzing a cobalt film electrodeposited on a substrate. The assembly was then baked for two hours in a phosphorus vapor that converted it to a cobalt/phosphide/phosphate thin film without damaging its porous structure.

The material proved to be robust in both durability tests and in acidic and alkaline conditions, Tour said.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Rice University
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





ENERGY TECH
X-ray study images structural damage in lithium-ion batteries
Hamburg, Germany (SPX) Apr 15, 2015
Charging lithium-ion batteries too quickly can permanently reduce the battery capacity. Portions of the energy storage structure are thereby destroyed and deactivated. These structural changes have been visualized for the first time by DESY researcher Dr Ulrike Bosenberg along with her team at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III. Their fluorescence studies show that even after only a few chargin ... read more


ENERGY TECH
Manned Moon Flight Planned For 2030

A new view of the moon's formation

Moon formed when young Earth and little sister collided

Will the moon's first inhabitants live in giant lava tubes?

ENERGY TECH
Mars rover data boosts hope for liquid water on Mars

Examining Rock Outcrop at 'The Spirit of St. Louis' Crater

Mars has belts of glaciers consisting of frozen water

Mars' dust-covered glacial belts may contain tons of water

ENERGY TECH
Ramping Up For Johnson's Chamber A Test

NASA Offers Study Volunteers Big Bucks to Stay in Bed

A Lot Can Happen in 5 Years: the President's 2010 Exploration Goals

May I go to space once more asks Brian Duffy

ENERGY TECH
Chinese scientists mull power station in space

China completes second test on new carrier rocket's power system

China's Yutu rover reveals Moon's "complex" geological history

China's Space Laboratory Still Cloaked

ENERGY TECH
Research for One-Year Space Station Mission Launched On Falcon 9

Astronaut Hadfield to release first space album

Special 3-D delivery from space to Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Extends Lockheed Martin Contract To Prepare Critical Cargo For ISS

ENERGY TECH
Russia Should Consider Launching Super-Heavy Rockets From Vostochny

Rocket tips over after SpaceX recycle attempt

SpaceX bid to recycle rocket fails again

RockSat-X Rescheduled for April 18

ENERGY TECH
Hot and Stormy at High Altitudes on Exoplanet HD 189733b

Small solar eruptions can have profound effects on unprotected planets

The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water

Earthlike 'Star Wars' Tatooines may be common

ENERGY TECH
IBM earnings dip as sales fall again

Scientists examine rarest elements of periodic table

New order for Selex ES search-and-rescue radars

Scientists create invisible objects without metamaterial cloaking




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.