A practical method of turning water into fuel is developed by researchers

Water may now be converted into fuel in an efficient manner thanks to research from the University of Oulu’s Nano and Molecular Systems Research Unit (NANOMO). They can use hydrogen as a source of energy thanks to the new nickel-based catalyst, which splits water into oxygen and hydrogen using sunlight.

We could replace carbon-intensive energy sources and slow down climate change by increasing the availability of renewable energy.

Water may now be converted into fuel in an efficient manner thanks to research from the University of Oulu’s Nano and Molecular Systems Research Unit (NANOMO). They can use hydrogen as a source of energy thanks to the new nickel-based catalyst, which splits water into oxygen and hydrogen using sunlight.

One of the popular methods for creating a greener environment has been the creation of hydrogen by solar water splitting using semiconductor-based technologies. However, the creation of new photocatalytic systems has recently been shown to be useful for sunshine energy collecting technologies due to high reagent costs, challenging materials synthesis methods, and low hydrogen production efficiency.

“Solar water splitting directly converts solar energy into hydrogen fuel. Since a renewable non-carbon source like solar is used, the hydrogen produced would also be a renewable source of energy in the true sense.”

Harishchandra Singh, Adjunct Professor

The researchers were able to examine the components of their catalyst with the aid of the Brockhouse beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). They can then see why their design was so successful. Graham King, a researcher on the Brockhouse beamline, said, “The beamline offers us access to very powerful beams of high-energy x-rays, which allow us to view details on the surface of these materials that are hard to see with other techniques.”

The creation of hydrogen-based energy is expensive since precious metals are frequently employed in hydrogen fuel cells. Singh and his team decided to utilize nickel instead because it is significantly less expensive. Singh has been researching structural, construction, and energy materials that can sustain a circular economy utilizing synchrotron technology for many years and relies on resources like the CLS.