Taiwanese researchers have discovered that copper oxide can be used in the production of hydrogen fuel in a finding that could revolutionize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of hydrogen technology.
The study, published in Nature Communications on Feb. 1, was conducted by Lin Yan-gu (林彥谷) of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in collaboration with researchers from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan and the Max Planck Institutes in Germany.
Hydrogen energy is one of the technologies being explored as a replacement for fossil fuels as part of the global effort to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 while meeting the world’s energy needs, the center said in a statement yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
Currently, hydrogen fuel is produced either by extraction from fossil fuels, which is known as “gray hydrogen,” as it still releases carbon into the environment, or by splitting water via electrolysis, which is called “green hydrogen,” as the process is carbon-free.
However, water-splitting technology has not become mainstream, as it requires the use of high-voltage electricity and expensive catalysts, such as platinum and iridium, the center said.
The researchers proved that copper oxide can be utilized as a cheap and effective alternative to current catalysts by injecting hydrogen atoms into a copper oxide catalyst, it said.
The cuprous oxide catalyst enables continuous water splitting for more than 100 hours using low-voltage electricity, which significantly reduces energy consumption, the center said.
The material’s lifetime is 10 times longer than catalysts in use and 10,000 times cheaper than commercial iridium, it said.
The team determined that the greater efficiency of copper oxide stems from a compound within the substance called trivalent copper, which is highly unstable and virtually non-existent in nature, it said.
The researchers used the facilities at the Taiwan Photon Source, the Taiwan Light Source and Taiwanese Beamlines at the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility in Japan for the study, the center said.
The project is part of the center’s efforts to develop green technologies to facilitate Taiwan’s bid to become a net zero economy by 2050, it said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
RSS