英国萨里大学科学家们使用纳米碳将甲烷转化为氢气

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英国萨里大学的科学家们发现了一种无金属催化剂，可以促进具有成本效益和可持续的制氢技术

这项研究显示了使用边缘位点结构的纳米碳作为无金属催化剂直接将甲烷转化为氢气的方法大有成功希望

说到储存甲烷氢是一个不错的选择，大自然在数亿年前就已经想出了这个办法

中国石化新闻网讯 据油价网2023年2月15日报道，英国萨里大学的科学家们发现，一种无金属催化剂可以有助于发展具有成本效益和可持续的制氢技术。

萨里大学科学家们的题为“使用第一原理微动力学模型揭示边缘位点结构的纳米碳在甲烷制氢中的性能”研究报告已发表在美国工程技术-材料科学类顶级期刊《Applied Materials & Interfaces》上。

这项研究显示，利用边缘位点结构的纳米碳作为无金属催化剂，直接将甲烷(甲烷也是一种强大的温室气体)转化为氢气，取得了令人鼓舞的结果。在研究的纳米碳中，氮掺杂纳米碳在高温下表现出最高水平的产氢性能。

至关重要的是，萨里大学的研究人员还发现，氮掺杂和磷掺杂的纳米碳具有很强的抗碳中毒能力，这是催化剂在这一过程中的常见问题。

执行材料科学模拟的研究员Neubi Xavier Jr博士说：“我们的研究结果表明，使用边缘位点结构的纳米碳作为催化剂可能会改变氢气工业的游戏规则，为传统金属催化剂提供一种具有成本效益和可持续的替代品。与此同时，这个过程可以去除甲烷，甲烷是导致全球气候变暖的化石燃料。”

氢燃料是一种清洁的可再生能源，有可能减少碳排放，减少人们对化石燃料的依赖。当用作燃料时，氢气可以为汽车提供动力，发电，为建筑物供暖。氢燃料的唯一副产品是水蒸气，使其成为传统化石燃料的环保替代品。

然而，氢燃料的生产目前依赖于化石燃料和金属催化剂，化石燃料在生产过程中会产生碳排放，而金属催化剂的开采和制造是能源密集型的，会对环境产生负面影响。因此，开发可持续的制氢方法和催化材料对于充分发挥氢燃料作为清洁能源的潜力至关重要。

这项研究是由萨里大学的马可·萨基博士领导的团队进行的，萨基博士是可持续能源和计算化学领域的专家，他结合了量子化学、热力学和化学动力学，确定了（纳米碳）最有效的产氢边缘位点。

萨基博士说：“氢气生产催化剂的最大挑战之一是它们可能会被碳污染。但是我们的研究发现氮和磷掺杂的纳米碳对这个问题很有抵抗力。这是向可持续制氢迈进的一大步。”

虽然将甲烷排放到大气中是一件坏事，但甲烷是一种巨大的能量储备，比其他碳氢化合物产生更多的热能和光能。这可能是因为甲烷有一个碳原子和四个氢原子。

萨基博士说，当谈到储存氢气时，甲烷是一个很好的选择。大自然在数亿年前就已经想出了这个办法。

李峻 编译自 油价网

原文如下：

Scientists Use Nano Carbons To Convert Methane Into Hydrogen

·     Scientists at the University of Surrey discovered metal-free catalysts that could contribute to cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

·     The study has shown promising results for the use of edge-decorated nano carbons as metal-free catalysts for the direct conversion of methane into hydrogen.

·     When it comes to storing hydrogen methane is a good choice, nature had that figured out hundreds of millions of years ago.

University of Surrey researchers have found that a type of metal-free catalysts could contribute to the development of cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

The results entitled ‘First-Principles Microkinetic Modeling Unraveling the Performance of Edge-Decorated Nanocarbons for Hydrogen Production from Methane’ have been published at ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

The study has shown promising results for the use of edge-decorated nano carbons as metal-free catalysts for the direct conversion of methane, which is also a powerful greenhouse gas, into hydrogen. Among the nano carbons investigated, nitrogen-doped nano carbons presented the highest level of performance for hydrogen production at high temperatures.

Crucially, the researchers also found that the nitrogen-doped and phosphorus-doped nano carbons had strong resistance to carbon poisoning, which is a common issue with catalysts in this process.

Dr Neubi Xavier Jr, the research fellow who performed the material science simulations, said, “Our results suggest that using edge-decorated nano carbons as catalysts could be a game-changer for the hydrogen industry, offering a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional metal catalysts. At the same time, this process gets rid of methane, which is a fossil fuel involved in global warming.”

Hydrogen fuel is a clean and renewable energy source that has the potential to reduce carbon emissions and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. When used as a fuel, hydrogen can power vehicles, generate electricity, and heat buildings. The only by-product of hydrogen fuel is water vapor, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

However, the production of hydrogen fuel is currently reliant on fossil fuels, which creates carbon emissions in the process, and metal catalysts, which mining and manufacturing are energy intensive and can negatively affect the environment. Therefore, the development of sustainable hydrogen production methods and catalytic materials is crucial to realizing the full potential of hydrogen fuel as a clean energy source.

The research was conducted by a team led by Dr Marco Sacchi from the University of Surrey, an expert in the field of sustainable energy and computational chemistry, who combined quantum chemistry, thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to determine the most efficient edge decoration for hydrogen production.

Dr Sacchi said, “One of the biggest challenges with catalysts for hydrogen production is that they can get poisoned by carbon. But our study found that nitrogen and phosphorus-doped nano carbons are pretty resistant to this problem. This is a huge step forward for sustainable hydrogen production.”

While it is a bad thing to be venting methane out into the atmosphere, methane is a great store of energy and produces more heat and light energy by mass than other hydrocarbons. That could be because methane is one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.

When it comes to storing hydrogen methane is a good choice. Nature had that figured out hundreds of millions of years ago.