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A laboratory study has improved the production of green hydrogen using solar energy, thanks to photocatalysts that incorporate metals subjected to various treatments designed to enhance dispersion and photocatalytic activity.

Green hydrogen is one of the fuels of the future because, when burned, it produces only water vapor—a harmless substance—unlike the carbon dioxide emitted by today's engines, which run on fossil fuels. Hydrogen production, however, relies on the very fuels it aims to replace. Thus, the Organic Chemistry and Catalysis research group at the University of Córdoba is working to make both the use and production of hydrogen green through a "recipe" that combines various "ingredients" and methods.

The foundation of this recipe for producing truly green hydrogen is photocatalysis, a process that converts sunlight into chemical energy using titanium dioxide, a compound commonly employed in these processes. This compound, known as a photocatalyst, is highly stable and inexpensive, but it cannot absorb a large amount of sunlight. In fact, it loses more than 90% of the light it receives almost instantly, even before it can convert it into hydrogen. Hence, the research team has added other elements and treatments to the "recipe" that increase and improve hydrogen generation.

In laboratory tests simulating sunlight, the team added various metals to titanium dioxide and found that gold or platinum (from the group of noble metals) are the most efficient at converting captured sunlight into chemical energy and producing hydrogen.

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