Water electrolysis has not yet established itself as a method for the production of hydrogen. Too much energy is lost in the process. Researchers have now doubled the efficiency of the reaction.
In the journal “Nature Communications”, researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Technical University of Munich and Universiteit Leiden report in what way the efficiency of electrodes can be increased for the purpose of water electrolysis. Typically, platinum is applied as catalyst, in order to accelerate the conversion of water to hydrogen and oxygen. For the reaction to be as efficient as possible, intermediates must not adhere too strongly or too weakly at the catalyst surface.