Electrolysis catalyst could produce fuel from waste CO2

The so-called hydrogen economy – based around storage and usage of hydrogen rather than oil products as an energy carrier – has always stumbled because of lack of availability of hydrogen. Currently, its major sources all use fossil fuels as their source, which is counter-productive. Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen uses electricity, which must be carbon neutral if the goal of reducing carbon emissions is to be met, and depends on the use of catalysts to reduce the energy needed to split the stable water molecule. The most efficient catalysts are based on costly platinum and only work under acidic conditions. Many researchers have been trying to solve this problem, and a team from the University of Toronto believes it may have found a solution.

In a paper in Nature Energy, engineers working with Prof Ted Sargent describe how the electrolysis catalyst is based on copper, nickel and chromium, all of which are more abundant and less costly than platinum. "But what's most exciting is that it performs well under pH-neutral conditions, which opens up a number of possibilities," said Cao-Thang Dinh, a postdoctoral student and co-lead author with Prof Sargent.