A US research team claims to have developed a new way of making water from a variety of materials, which could lead to more effective catalysts and improve the commercial viability of fuel cells.

Zachariah Heiden, a student at The University of Illinois who was involved in the research, claims that through the method unlikely materials such as alcohol and "unconventional metal hydrides can be used for a chemical process called oxygen reduction, which is an essential part of the process of making water".

The team's research hinged on recreating the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen that creates water and releases energy in a soluble solution, something they claim has never before been achieved, sciencedaily.com reports.

This reaction mirrors that which occurs in a fuel cell when diatomic oxygen gas and hydrogen gas enter the cell - the oxygen reduction reaction element of which has traditionally presented problems.

By introducing new transfer hydrogenation catalysts, including an iridium-based catalyst, for oxygen reduction, however, the team found that they arrived at "new chemical means for hydrogen oxidisation".

In particular, it was shown that the iridium complex affects both the oxidisation of alcohols and the reduction of the oxygen.

The new catalysts could prove important in the development of more efficient hydrogen fuel cells, according to Mr Heiden.

Source:

Scientists Discover New Way To Make Water, 31/10/07
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071031125457.htm


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