Scientists FOAMING over a Nickel’s worth of hydrogen
As a power source, hydrogen has a bunch of problems, but at least one of them – the cost of obtaining the gas – might be closer to a solution. 
Right now, most commercial quantities of hydrogen are derived from ‘fossil fuels’ because electrolysis of water into hydrogen is expensive.
Scientists from the University of NSW reckon that a three-dimensional lattice made from cheap nickel and iron offers a huge boost both in cost and efficiency as an electrode for splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.
UNSW school of chemistry associate professor Chuan Zhao says the electrode is “inexpensive, sturdy and simple to make, and can potentially be scaled up for industrial application of water splitting.”
Because it’s made of nickel and iron, the electrode is much cheaper than electrolysers that use precious metals, the university says.
The researchers started with a commercial nickel foam, which has roughly 200-micron holes in it, which they then electroplated with a nickel-iron catalyst. That catalyst is highly reactive, which reduces the amount of electricity needed to split water molecules.
Another feature of the structure is that the catalyst layer has 50 nanometre pores in it.
Zhao says the three-dimensional structure provides a big surface area on which the reaction can take place, while the smaller holes “make the electrode surface ‘wetter’, so the bubbles do not stick to it, which is a common problem that makes electrodes less efficient”, Zhao said.
More efficient electrolysis is unlikely to impress Elon Musk, who recently said fuel cells are “incredibly dumb” for powering cars. Toyota, on the other hand, might be more enthusiastic since in the middle of a worldwide rollout of fuel-cell vehicles. ®
Read more at www.theregister.co.uk
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