Promising New Solar-Powered Path to Hydrogen Fuel Production

BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Feedstocks, National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania, Process, R & D Focus, Sustainability, University/College Programs, water

August 14, 2019

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(Lehigh News) A team at Lehigh is the first to use a single enzyme biomineralization process to create a solar-driven water splitting catalyst that produces hydrogen with the potential to be manufactured sustainably, cheaply and abundantly. — Engineers at Lehigh University are the first to utilize a single enzyme biomineralization process to create a catalyst that uses the energy of captured sunlight to split water molecules to produce hydrogen. The synthesis process is performed at room temperature and under ambient pressure, overcoming the sustainability and scalability challenges of previously reported methods.

Solar-driven water splitting is a promising route towards a renewable energy-based economy. The generated hydrogen could serve as both a transportation fuel and a critical chemical feedstock for fertilizer and chemical production. Both of these sectors currently contribute a large fraction of total greenhouse gas emissions.

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Now a team of engineers at Lehigh University have harnessed a biomineralization approach to synthesizing both quantum confined nanoparticle metal sulfide particles and the supporting reduced graphene oxide material to create a photocatalyst that splits water to form hydrogen. The team reported their results in an article entitled: “Enzymatic synthesis of supported CdS quantum dot/reduced graphene oxide photocatalysts” featured on the cover of the August 7th issue of Green Chemistry, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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Over the past several years, McIntosh (Steven McIntosh, Professor in Lehigh’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)’s group has developed a single enzyme approach for biomineralization―the process by which living organisms produce minerals―of size-controlled, quantum confined metal sulfide nanocrystals. In a previous collaboration with Kiely (Christopher J. Kiely, Harold B. Chambers Senior Professor in Lehigh’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering), the lab successfully demonstrated the first precisely controlled, biological way to manufacture quantum dots. Their one-step method began with engineered bacterial cells in a simple, aqueous solution and ended with functional semiconducting nanoparticles, all without resorting to high temperatures and toxic chemicals. The method was featured in a New York Times article: “How a Mysterious Bacteria Almost Gave You a Better TV.” READ MORE

Enzymatic synthesis of supported CdS quantum dot/reduced graphene oxide photocatalysts (Green Chemistry)

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