Scientists Develop Novel Method for Production of Hydrogen Gas

Iranian researchers at Mazandaran University managed to introduce a low-cost method for producing hydrogen by propagating and stabilizing nanoparticles on the electrodes surface and modifying them.

Noble metals such as platinum could act as a catalyst for reduction processes in fuel cells, however, their high cost restricts their application. Thus researchers' attention is focused on the modification of electrodes surface and their fabrication at low prices by means of nanotechnology in recent years.

"We first synthesized and stabilized the low-cost nanoscale copper on the surface of modified polymeric glassy carbon electrode, then synthesized platinum metallic nanoparticles by Galvanic replacement of copper nanoparticles with platinum ions and propagated them on the modified polymeric electrode surface", Saleheh Asqari, one of the researchers, said in an interview with INIC news service.

"The content of the deposited platinum nanoparticles on the electrode surface is very low in this method. As a matter of fact, the most decomposing yield is produced by deposition of the least amount of platinum on the modified polymeric electrode surface," she added.

The results prove that poly (8-hydroxyquinoline) film could act as a suitable structure for preconcentration of copper ions (II) and stabilization of copper nanoparticles on the electrode surface.

The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction on the surface of the aforementioned electrode is investigated by cyclic voltammetry method and the results imply that it is able to act as an appropriate bed for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction.

This research could be used as a new method for electrical energy generation in different industries, new energies and fuel cells.