Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, came up with a cheap way to make a lot of hydrogen fuel. They used the reactivity of aluminum to do it.
Scientists have been trying to figure out how to use aluminum’s ability to remove oxygen from water molecules to make hydrogen gas for a long time now. A new study in Applied Nano Materials shows how the team of researchers made gallium and aluminum nanoparticles that react quickly with water to make hydrogen. They did this by making a cheap composite of gallium and aluminum, which they then used to make aluminum nanoparticles.
Gallium removes the aluminum oxide coating that would form when aluminum and gallium come into contact with water. This makes the reaction between the two work. A lot of hydrogen was made during the experiment because aluminum nanoparticles were made during the reaction. This was shown by taking measurements.
The researchers say that the composite for their method can be made easily with aluminum that can be found easily, like used foil and cans. Gallium isn’t as common as other metals, but scientists say it’s easy to get back and reuse, which should help make their method more common as the world tests new ways to move hydrogen around, like in cars and planes.
