Heat-Driven Water Splitting
Source: “Low-Temperature, Manganese Oxide-Based, Thermochemical Water Splitting Cycle”
Mark Davis et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(24): 9260–9264
Results: A novel process for using heat to split water uses relatively low temperatures (850 °C versus well over 1,000 °C for earlier approaches) and doesn’t produce toxic or corrosive intermediate products.
Why it matters: If producing hydrogen through electrolysis can become greener and less expensive, it might be more cost-effective than getting hydrogen out of natural gas, which is a process that emits carbon dioxide. This will be especially important if automakers start selling large numbers of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Methods: The researchers developed a process that uses sodium carbonate and manganese oxide to help facilitate water-splitting reactions. These materials are modified by a series of chemical reactions that change the way they react with water, producing hydrogen gas in one step and oxygen in another. The reactions form a closed cycle: at the end of the process the materials are returned to their original state, so they can be used many times.
Next Steps: The researchers aim to lower the working temperatures still further, with the goal of making it practical to split water using waste heat from industrial processes and power plants.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora
The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.
Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.
Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.
This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language
A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.