BIO-INSPIRED CATALYST MAKES ZERO-CARBON FUEL

摘要

In the search for carbon-free energy sources, molecular hydrogen (H_2) has long been a promising candidate, but difficulties in production and storage have hindered its widespread adoption. At present, most industrial-scale hydrogen production involves natural gas and a steam reforming process that releases at least one molecule of CO_2 for every four molecules of H_2 produced. Water-splitting methods do not require carbon-based feedstocks, but they often require catalysts that include expensive noble metals like platinum. Now, Thomas Rauchfuss, Stephen Cramer, and co-workers have taken a lesson from nature and developed an [FeFe] hydrogenase catalyst, a type of iron-containing enzyme, that facilitates the reversible conversion of hydrogen gas to electrons and protons, and back again (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.lc02323).