Speeding Toward Improved Hydrogen Fuel Production

Date posted
Funding Agency
(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

A team led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Molecular Foundry has designed and synthesized an effective catalyst for speeding up one of the limiting steps in extracting hydrogen from alcohols. The catalyst consists of 1.5-nanometer-diameter nickel clusters deposited onto a 2D substrate made of boron and nitrogen engineered to host a grid of atomic-scale dimples. The nickel clusters are evenly dispersed and securely anchored in the dimples -- an important feature that greatly improves the catalyst’s overall performance. This discovery could help make hydrogen a viable energy source for a wide range of applications, such as stationary power, portable power, and mobile vehicle industries.