男友太凶猛1v1高h,大地资源在线资源免费观看 ,人妻少妇精品视频二区,极度sm残忍bdsm变态

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語(yǔ)Fran?ais
World
Home / World / China-Europe

Scientists make artificial photosynthesis breakthrough

By Angus McNeice in London | China Daily UK | Updated: 2018-10-03 16:56
Share
Share - WeChat

A discovery made by British and Chinese researchers has taken scientists one step closer to the generation of clean energy by using sunlight to split water molecules, just as plants do through photosynthesis.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool, University College London and East China University of Science and Technology have synthesized a new organic material that works together with sunlight to separate water into its constituent elements, oxygen and hydrogen.

Pure hydrogen is a zero-emission fuel that can be used in engines or batteries, so the breakthrough could lead to an abundant clean energy source for the future.

"Ideally, in the future we will be able to use such materials along with sunlight and water to produce large amounts of hydrogen," said Wang Xiaoyan, a researcher in the chemistry department at the University of Liverpool, and lead author on the study published in the journal Nature.

"It's early and we are in the fundamental research stage, but our study is one step towards this," he added.

Hydrogen is already used as a fuel for spacecraft and in some ground transport vehicles. The element is abundant on earth in compounds such as water and fossil fuels, however it is rarely found in its pure form.

Current industrial methods of hydrogen production have significant drawbacks. Hydrogen can be separated from oxygen via electrolysis, which involves passing an electric current through water, but this process is energy intensive.

The most common method of producing pure hydrogen is through steam-methane reforming. At high temperatures, methane - formed of hydrogen and carbon - reacts with steam to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Since this process generates CO2, which is a greenhouse gas, it is not considered a clean method of fuel production.

Scientists have long marveled at the ability of plants to split water molecules using sunlight during photosynthesis. Several researchers have successfully mimicked photosynthesis through a process called photocatalytic water splitting, although so far no methods have proven efficient enough to be commercially viable.

The material synthesized by Wang and his colleagues is a promising new development. In photocatalytic water splitting, sunlight hits an organic or inorganic catalyst, generating electrons and holes which split the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen.

Inorganic catalysts are generally more efficient than organic catalysts, however it is far simpler to make water-splitting devices using the latter.

The team at Liverpool has managed to synthesize an organic sulphur-based material which essentially allows for the best of both worlds. It lends itself more easily than inorganic catalysts to the manufacture of water splitting devices, and is more efficient than most known organic alternatives.

Wang's research is part funded by the China Scholarship Council, which runs a program that attracts PhD candidates from China to carry out their studies at the University of Liverpool Materials Innovation Factory, also known as the MIF.

"It is a good example of the vital need to hire the best researchers from all over the world, and to collaborate with teams in other countries," said Andrew Cooper, director of the MIF and academic lead on the new study. "Top-level science is an international endeavor."

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 紫金县| 崇州市| 万山特区| 格尔木市| 余庆县| 孙吴县| 图们市| 南宫市| 永春县| 尉氏县| 炎陵县| 东源县| 广丰县| 江安县| 达州市| 大方县| 大新县| 麟游县| 修文县| 永福县| 太康县| 河源市| 桂平市| 闸北区| 永清县| 定结县| 泾阳县| 高青县| 北票市| 两当县| 循化| 松江区| 永嘉县| 霍林郭勒市| 绥阳县| 象山县| 新和县| 锦屏县| 安化县| 湟中县| 雷波县|