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Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven
National Laboratory have developed a new electrocatalyst that addresses
one of these problems by generating hydrogen gas from water cleanly and
with much more affordable materials. The novel form of catalytic
nickel-molybdenum-nitride - described in a paper published online May 8,
2012 in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition - surprised
scientists with its high-performing nanosheet structure, introducing a
new model for effective hydrogen catalysis.
"We wanted to design an optimal catalyst with high activity and low
costs that could generate hydrogen as a high-density, clean energy
source," said Brookhaven Lab chemist Kotaro Sasaki, who first conceived
the idea for this research. "We discovered this exciting compound that
actually outperformed our expectations."
Goldilocks chemistry
Water provides an ideal source of pure hydrogen - abundant and free of
harmful greenhouse gas byproducts. The electrolysis of water, or
splitting water (H2O) into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2), requires
external electricity and an efficient catalyst to break chemical bonds
while shifting around protons and electrons. To justify the effort, the
amount of energy put into the reaction must be as small as possible
while still exceeding the minimum required by thermodynamics, a figure
associated with what is called overpotential.
Nanotech is THE big advance in materials science. It will be on par with discovering Electricity or Germ Theory with how it is going to change our lives. It's too bad the biggest changes most likely will happen after we are gone (well at least me).
Not pessimistic, just realistic. Advances like this take between 20-50 years to make it solidly into the public venue as products depending on complications. I still don't have my flying car... for example.Nanotech is THE big advance in materials science. It will be on par with discovering Electricity or Germ Theory with how it is going to change our lives. It's too bad the biggest changes most likely will happen after we are gone (well at least me).
Dont be so pessimistic, Fitz. Technology is moving at an exponentially increasing pace. This is due to the speed with which scientists can communicate with each other, the vast number of trained minds that are available to analyze plausible applications of new tech with old problems and increasingly newer ones as well, and the aid of computer resolution to enormously complex theories and analysis. This will explodeonce they start using gamers to solve problems more. The collective minds of those who love to solve puzzles is the last virtual untapped resource we still have available.
I think most of us here will, God Willing, see a technological utopia, where a person need only work for satisfaction as all commodities will be so cheap that even the poorest can afford them.
It will be to some extent, what a great number of our best minds of our civilization have worked toward for the last five centuries. We will get there if we dont fuck it all up just minutes before the dawn with old hatreds and greed.
Not pessimistic, just realistic. Advances like this take between 20-50 years to make it solidly into the public venue as products depending on complications.
I still don't have my flying car... for example.
Yes, things move faster for development, that is true... in SOME fields, not all. Computerization has gone a long way. But look how long it has taken for many other advances we do have. For instance, we are a long way from DARPAnet when the Internet concept was first developed in the late 1940's and early 50's. The personal computer took 40 years to develop from when they were originally used to compute bomb and shell trajectories. How about Solar Cells? We are not THAT much improved over when they were first rolled out in the 1970's. Sure refinements and miniaturization took hold, but it's still not there.Not pessimistic, just realistic. Advances like this take between 20-50 years to make it solidly into the public venue as products depending on complications.
What used to take 20-50 years, now takes about 5 - 10 years. For example, it used to take several years to set up a factory, hire all the workers, design the process, etc. Now people can do that with microfactories in a few months. Everything moves so much faster today because of the ease of communication, the availability of global markets for resources and the computerization of everything.
I still don't have my flying car... for example.
Why not?
They have been around awhile.
Top five flying cars and the technology behind them
Its just that not enough of us see a need for them to buy them and psh the prices down to something the everyday person can afford.
As our suburbs have grown and commutes get longer, the need for such vehicles increases the demand and will make them affordable.
Technological inovation requires need in the markeet as well as the technological capability for something to become widespread.
Yes, things move faster for development, that is true... in SOME fields, not all. Computerization has gone a long way. But look how long it has taken for many other advances we do have. For instance, we are a long way from DARPAnet when the Internet concept was first developed in the late 1940's and early 50's. The personal computer took 40 years to develop from when they were originally used to compute bomb and shell trajectories.
How about Solar Cells? We are not THAT much improved over when they were first rolled out in the 1970's. Sure refinements and miniaturization took hold, but it's still not there.
Refinement takes time from lab experiment to prototype to first generation to third generation. That is what I'm referring to. Sure, some things will be out rather quickly in limited and primative functionality. That's a given. But as for the refined product? No. 20-50 years is not that far fetched.
In the end, also, all new technology faces the same hurdles as every one before it. Is it 'bigger, better, faster, cheaper..."? Does it look cool? Do I really need it? And of course, if you don't think this matters, look at all those countertop home appliances that link back to Ronco and George Foreman. The path to the future is fraught with dead ends, bad choices, bad luck and just plain weirdness.
The future is bright as long as blacks or islam don't destroy civilization first that is. This is very cool, so I will be fighting for civilization!
The future is bright as long as blacks or islam don't destroy civilization first that is. This is very cool, so I will be fighting for civilization!
Now Mathew, in 1962, both sides were white. And the Christians failed to destroy the world in the Crusades. If you want a candidate to destroy the world as we know it, greed is the best candidate, irregardless of color.
Canadian researchers have developed a groundbreaking method which may ultimately enable excess energy created by wind turbines and solar panels to be stored for later use. Two researchers at the University of Calgary reported in the journal Science that they have invented a relatively inexpensive way of using rust to act as a catalyst for capturing energy through the electrolysis of water. This breakthrough offers a relatively cheaper method of storing and reusing electricity produced by wind turbines and solar panels, said Curtis Berlinguette, associate professor of chemistry at the university. Our work represents a critical step for realizing a large-scale, clean energy economy, Berlinguette added.
The discovery opens up a whole new field of how to make catalytic materials. We now have a large new arena for discovery, assistant professor of chemistry Simon Trudel said. The two researchers have created a company to commercialize their electrocatalysts for use in electrolyzers. Electrolyzers use catalysts to create a chemical reaction that converts electricity into energy by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be stored and reconverted to electricity for use whenever needed.
Catalysts are typically made from rare and expensive metals in a crystalline structure. However, Berlinguette and Trudel deviated from this principle by using common metal compounds or oxides, such as rust, which achieved the same results as more expensive metals. The researchers expect to have a commercial product in the market by 2014, with a prototype electrolyzer designed to provide a family homes energy needs ready for testing by 2015.
Researchers develop new energy-saving procedure - Taipei Times
Using rust to capture energy through electrolysis...
Researchers develop new energy-saving procedure
Sun, Mar 31, 2013 - CRITICAL STEP: The two researchers from Canada said they have invented a relatively inexpensive way of using rust to capture energy through electrolysis
Canadian researchers have developed a groundbreaking method which may ultimately enable excess energy created by wind turbines and solar panels to be stored for later use. Two researchers at the University of Calgary reported in the journal Science that they have invented a relatively inexpensive way of using rust to act as a catalyst for capturing energy through the electrolysis of water. This breakthrough offers a relatively cheaper method of storing and reusing electricity produced by wind turbines and solar panels, said Curtis Berlinguette, associate professor of chemistry at the university. Our work represents a critical step for realizing a large-scale, clean energy economy, Berlinguette added.
The discovery opens up a whole new field of how to make catalytic materials. We now have a large new arena for discovery, assistant professor of chemistry Simon Trudel said. The two researchers have created a company to commercialize their electrocatalysts for use in electrolyzers. Electrolyzers use catalysts to create a chemical reaction that converts electricity into energy by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be stored and reconverted to electricity for use whenever needed.
Catalysts are typically made from rare and expensive metals in a crystalline structure. However, Berlinguette and Trudel deviated from this principle by using common metal compounds or oxides, such as rust, which achieved the same results as more expensive metals. The researchers expect to have a commercial product in the market by 2014, with a prototype electrolyzer designed to provide a family homes energy needs ready for testing by 2015.
Researchers develop new energy-saving procedure - Taipei Times
