NREL Melds Nature with Nanotech for Solar-Powered Hydrogen Production (Fact Sheet)

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1026573· OSTI ID:1026573

NREL researchers are finding ways to mimic photosynthesis by combining enzymes with nanoparticles - particles on the scale of a billionth of a meter - to produce hydrogen directly from water and sunlight. This breakthrough project began in 2008 with scientists and researchers asking how they might learn from nature and develop a synthetic process that is more efficient than plants at converting sunlight to hydrogen. The goal was to find a new way to produce hydrogen that could then be commercialized inexpensively for fuel cells and other uses. Among the various approaches to making hydrogen, the NREL researchers wondered about a hybrid molecular assembly that might pair the best natural molecule with a synthesized nanoparticle. Researchers looked at using hydrogenase enzymes as one part of the equation. These biological catalysts can convert electrons and protons into hydrogen gas, or convert hydrogen into electrons and protons. The choice seemed worthwhile because the hydrogenase enzyme has some intriguing properties: a high substrate selectivity, meaning a very high preference for catalyzing reactions with protons rather than with other atoms and molecules; and fast turnover, which enables it to produce a hydrogen molecule in milliseconds.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1026573
• Report Number(s): NREL/FS-6A42-50990; TRN: US201122%%495
• Resource Relation: Related Information: Innovation: The Spectrum of Clean Energy Innovation, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
14 SOLAR ENERGY
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ATOMS
CATALYSTS
ELECTRONS
ENZYMES
FUEL CELLS
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
HYDROGENASES
METERS
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
PROTONS
SUBSTRATES
WATER
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY (NREL)
SOLAR-POWERED HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
NANOPARTICLES
HYDROGENASE ENZYMES
Hydrogen