-Caveat Lector-
In a message dated 9/4/2004 2:07:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
MF <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (MF)
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 09:25:20 -0700
Subject: [alternatepower] H2 Source Development
http://www.e4engineering.com/story.aspx?uid=0a0696a7-89cd-44ef-a3d1-092dc6e3b79c&cuid=b96dad81-0ef4-4fcc-9e3d-a7bd9b6a4258
Photosynthesis in a cup:
By Deborah Halber:
In a step toward creating energy from sunlight as plants do,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have invented a
compound that produces hydrogen gas with the help of a catalyst and a
ray of light.
The researchers, Professor Daniel G. Nocera of chemistry and former MIT
graduate student Alan F. Heyduk, reported their discovery in the August
31 issue of Science. Creating a molecule to replace a leaf, essentially,
photosynthesis in a beaker, could provide a cheap, clean future energy
source, Professor Nocera said.
"We have been seeking a future alternative fuel source by studying the
principles that govern the conversion of photon energy into chemical
potential," he said. "Our strategy is to use the energy of sunlight to
drive reactants uphill to energy-rich products, thus harnessing the
sun's energy to create a renewable energy source in the future."
Nocera and Heyduk created a compound based on the metal rhodium. When
the rhodium photocatalyst is dissolved in solution, the researchers add
to it a hydrogen-containing acid (also called a hydrohalic acid) and
shine light on it.
"In the leaf, sugar and oxygen are energy-rich products. In our beaker,
the sought-after fuels are hydrogen and a halogen, produced
catalytically from the photochemical splitting of hydrohalic acid,"
Nocera said.
The structure of the rhodium compound allows it to break the hydrohalic
acid's chemical bonds. Hydrogen gas, with a by-product of bromides and
chlorides, is produced. The by-products are chemically trapped and
recycled into the reaction.While not as complete and efficient as
photosynthesis, this system comes close to the ideal use of a molecular
catalyst as part of a homogeneous reaction for which scientists have
been searching for more than three decades.
Plants convert sunlight into a high-energy fuel over and over again in a
process so complicated that scientists have yet to come close to
duplicating it. Attempts to mimic it so far have not produced an energy
conversion process efficient enough to compete with fossil fuels.
However, future generations will require alternatives to limited
petroleum-based fuels. If scientists can make hydrogen, it could combine
with the oxygen in the air to make water. This is the process that fuel
cells use to generate energy. Within fuel cells, which are now being
produced by various manufacturers for vehicles and buildings, it would
take a photocatalyst and solar energy to start the reaction all over
again from water.
THE MIT researchers set out to trap the photon energy in a structurally
well-defined molecule and control the subsequent reactions to convert
light into hydrogen. Previously, the closest scientists have come to
achieving this goal is to use photocatalysts that are solids, which need
massive surface areas.
In a chemical reaction, the trick is to design a system where the energy
needed to break a chemical bond is compensated by the absorption of a
photon. The payoff: an alternative, clean fuel source produced with the
help of sunlight.
"Heyduk and Nocera have taken fundamental ideas of photochemistry and
harnessed them to achieve a long sought-after but elusive goal:
molecular-based photocatalytic production of a useable fuel," commented
James K. McCusker, a chemistry professor at Michigan State University.
"The importance of this work is not the specificity of the catalyst's
performance, but rather that a new door has been opened."
Nocera says that their new process is not perfect, but it is a beginning
that may re-ignite solar energy research that has been largely dormant
since the 1970s.
"As it stands, we have performed half of the photosynthetic reaction by
generating hydrogen. If we can now get the other half of the process to
work (getting the halogen), we would have a framework for future energy
production," Nocera said.
_______________________/^\________
www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. SubstanceÃâânot soap-boxingÃââplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'Ãââwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsÃââis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
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Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 11:07:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Daniel Mio <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: H2 Source Development
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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-Caveat Lector-
MF <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (MF)
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 09:25:20 -0700
Subject: [alternatepower] H2 Source Development
http://www.e4engineering.com/story.aspx?uid=0a0696a7-89cd-44ef-a3d1-092dc6e3b79c&cuid=b96dad81-0ef4-4fcc-9e3d-a7bd9b6a4258
Photosynthesis in a cup:
By Deborah Halber:
In a step toward creating energy from sunlight as plants do,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have invented a
compound that produces hydrogen gas with the help of a catalyst and a
ray of light.
The researchers, Professor Daniel G. Nocera of chemistry and former MIT
graduate student Alan F. Heyduk, reported their discovery in the August
31 issue of Science. Creating a molecule to replace a leaf, essentially,
photosynthesis in a beaker, could provide a cheap, clean future energy
source, Professor Nocera said.
"We have been seeking a future alternative fuel source by studying the
principles that govern the conversion of photon energy into chemical
potential," he said. "Our strategy is to use the energy of sunlight to
drive reactants uphill to energy-rich products, thus harnessing the
sun's energy to create a renewable energy source in the future."
Nocera and Heyduk created a compound based on the metal rhodium. When
the rhodium photocatalyst is dissolved in solution, the researchers add
to it a hydrogen-containing acid (also called a hydrohalic acid) and
shine light on it.
"In the leaf, sugar and oxygen are energy-rich products. In our beaker,
the sought-after fuels are hydrogen and a halogen, produced
catalytically from the photochemical splitting of hydrohalic acid,"
Nocera said.
The structure of the rhodium compound allows it to break the hydrohalic
acid's chemical bonds. Hydrogen gas, with a by-product of bromides and
chlorides, is produced. The by-products are chemically trapped and
recycled into the reaction.While not as complete and efficient as
photosynthesis, this system comes close to the ideal use of a molecular
catalyst as part of a homogeneous reaction for which scientists have
been searching for more than three decades.
Plants convert sunlight into a high-energy fuel over and over again in a
process so complicated that scientists have yet to come close to
duplicating it. Attempts to mimic it so far have not produced an energy
conversion process efficient enough to compete with fossil fuels.
However, future generations will require alternatives to limited
petroleum-based fuels. If scientists can make hydrogen, it could combine
with the oxygen in the air to make water. This is the process that fuel
cells use to generate energy. Within fuel cells, which are now being
produced by various manufacturers for vehicles and buildings, it would
take a photocatalyst and solar energy to start the reaction all over
again from water.
THE MIT researchers set out to trap the photon energy in a structurally
well-defined molecule and control the subsequent reactions to convert
light into hydrogen. Previously, the closest scientists have come to
achieving this goal is to use photocatalysts that are solids, which need
massive surface areas.
In a chemical reaction, the trick is to design a system where the energy
needed to break a chemical bond is compensated by the absorption of a
photon. The payoff: an alternative, clean fuel source produced with the
help of sunlight.
"Heyduk and Nocera have taken fundamental ideas of photochemistry and
harnessed them to achieve a long sought-after but elusive goal:
molecular-based photocatalytic production of a useable fuel," commented
James K. McCusker, a chemistry professor at Michigan State University.
"The importance of this work is not the specificity of the catalyst's
performance, but rather that a new door has been opened."
Nocera says that their new process is not perfect, but it is a beginning
that may re-ignite solar energy research that has been largely dormant
since the 1970s.
"As it stands, we have performed half of the photosynthetic reaction by
generating hydrogen. If we can now get the other half of the process to
work (getting the halogen), we would have a framework for future energy
production," Nocera said.
_______________________/^\________
www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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