|
|
Tiny buckyballs squeeze hydrogen like giant Jupiter (3/21/2008)
 |
| In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter. - Credit: Boris Yakobson |
Carbon cages can hold super-dense volumes of nearly metallic hydrogen
Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it's difficult to store in bulk. In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter.
The research appears on the March 2008 cover of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters.
"Based on our calculations, it appears that some buckyballs are capable of holding volumes of hydrogen so dense as to be almost metallic," said lead researcher Boris Yakobson, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice. "It appears they can hold about 8 percent of their weight in hydrogen at room temperature, which is considerably better than the federal target of 6 percent."
The Department of Energy has devoted more than $1 billion to developing technologies for hydrogen-powered automobiles, including technologies to cost-effectively store hydrogen for use in cars. Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe, and it is very difficult to store in bulk. For hydrogen cars to be competitive with gasoline-powered cars, they need a comparable range and a reasonably compact fuel system. It's estimated that a hydrogen-powered car with a suitable range will require a storage system with densities greater than those found in pure liquid hydrogen.
Yakobson said scientists have long argued the merits of storing hydrogen in tiny molecular containers like buckyballs, and experiments have shown that it's possible to store small volumes of hydrogen inside buckyballs. The new research by Yakobson and former postdoctoral researchers Olga Pupysheva and Amir Farajian offers the first method of precisely calculating how much hydrogen a buckyball can hold before breaking.
Buckyballs, which were discovered at Rice more than 20 years ago, are part of a family of carbon molecules called fullerenes. The family includes carbon nanotubes, the typical 60-atom buckyball and larger buckyballs composed of 2,000 or more atoms.
"Bonds between carbon atoms are among the strongest chemical bonds in nature," Yakobson said. "These bonds are what make diamond the hardest known substance, and our research showed that it takes an enormous amount of internal pressure to deform and break the carbon-carbon bonds in a fullerene."
Using a computer model, Yakobson's research team has tracked the strength of each atomic bond in a buckyball and simulated what happened to the bonds as more hydrogen atoms were packed inside. Yakobson said the model promises to be particularly useful because it is scalable, that is it can calculate exactly how much hydrogen a buckyball of any given size can hold, and it can also tell scientists how overstuffed buckyballs burst open and release their cargo.
If a feasible way to produce hydrogen-filled buckyballs is developed, Yakobson said, it might be possible to store them as a powder.
"They will likely assemble into weak molecular crystals or form a thin powder," he said. "They might find use in their whole form or be punctured under certain conditions to release pure hydrogen for fuel cells or other types of engines."
The research was supported by the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Rice University
Internet Marketing - Phoenix Landscaping - Phoenix Pools - Credit Counseling
Comments:
| 1. |
Uncle B |
|
11/2/2008 10:53:10 AM MST
|
|
Storing H2 is going to be practically possible in the very near future? Support the Solar and wind developments to make the H2 and we begin to have a system. Don't forget the "Super Battery" potentials of materials such as Ga, Al alloys and depleted Uranium has it's secrets yet to reveal, perhaps in cold fusion, and for super-batteries too! We must get off of foreign oil! We acctually borrowed money from China to pay the Saudies for oil, and the asshole government did not even ask us to cut back! H2 is available from sources other than electrolysis, and the biologists are fining bugs that make H2 from sewage! We are in desperate need of a means of storing H2. Maybe Buckie balls will work. I hope soon!
|
| 2. |
Ryan R
|
|
11/2/2008 12:04:13 PM MST
|
|
People as a whole need to realize and remember that the problem isn't that we just need to get off of foreign oil for political and economy reasons, but we need to get off of oil period. This is critical to have a sustainable culture, instead of relying on dirty and limited energy sources. It really comes down to clean, renewable energy like Hydrogen, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and others of the sort.
|
| 3. |
Ryan |
|
11/3/2008 4:33:39 PM MST
|
|
Wrong. It all comes down to money however people want to idealize things. Oil is still much cheaper for any practical energy requirement, and there's no good evidence that coal/oil can't supply us for another 100 years at least. Also global warming and cooling occur in natural cycles that we aren't having a noticeable effect on. Look at the real statistics, don't just believe everything people feed you.
|
| 4. |
lynx
|
|
11/4/2008 1:19:43 AM MST
|
|
Ryan,
There's no nice way to say this, but you're a flaming idiot. If you think burning fossil fuels is good for people or the environment go into your garage with the doors and windows shut and run your car engine for a few hours. breath in all that nice healthy car exhaust. Hell, do it overnight. And then you can come back here and tell us all about how great burning petroleum is for humans and the environment.
Global warming is a fact. Deal with it. Hell, even George Bush admits it's a fact, after years of denying it.
And if we want to avoid the worst-case scenarios we have to act NOW to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. A global transportation infrastructure based on petroleum cannot deliver the emissions reductions we need. That means we need to develop viable alternatives, and a system based on a combination of concentrated solar, wind, hydrogen, and algae-based biofuels is probably our best bet to get there. To that end, advances in storing hydrogen for fuel are to be applauded.
|
| 5. |
Joep |
|
11/4/2008 6:07:12 AM MST
|
|
Ryan is no idiot, what evidence is there oil cannot support us? - and what objective evidence is there that we are indeed having a noticable effect on global warming? Still, undoubtably its very unwise for us to continue as we are doing.
To say that global warming is a fact due to George Bush admitting it makes no sense to me. I mean, to admit something means that you suppose to know the truth. Not something I would attribute that blabbering fool with.
Uncle B: uranium cannot be used for fusion purposes, you might want to look up the difference between fission and fusion.
|
| 6. |
Woofer8 |
|
11/6/2008 9:40:33 AM MST
|
|
This is really fantastic stuff. Powdered hydrogen ?? Heck, if it's true they can get the density higher than liquid hydrogen then I suppose that would mean smaller rocket boosters. However I would wonder what happens to the buckyballs when they are popped open. They'd have to go somewhere and if burned would probably cause formation of interesting compounds. I'm sure, though, that science will solve those sort of issues.
As for the OIL issue. Get over it, oil is on the way out. It will be a scarce commodity at the present rate of consumption. Do your homework... while the US is the worlds largest consumer, China and India, both, are producing cars at a fantastic rate. Soon the oil will be gone. (yeah!!)
|
| 7. |
Andrew |
|
11/6/2008 1:09:18 PM MST
|
|
A hydrogen society is a fantastically high-paying economic plan, creating hundreds of thousands of labor jobs during the transition period and sustaining tens of thousands of high-paying careers in new industries. Though oil's infrastructure certainly makes it a working economic choice for the near future, switching to other forms of energy provides a far greater economic boost in the near future, as well as permanent growth and expansion from it's high-value infrastructure. Trillions of dollars in real economic growth and production can be had if we can shift off oil. (Though oil is here to stay: fossil fuels are immensely useful as a cheap source of versatile raw material, it just can't be pulled out of the ground fast enough to be our main source of fuel.)
Also in response to Joep, the most convincing data for the climate change from fossil fuel I have seen is by the oceanic survey crews meticulously collecting data all around the world. The data is shocking yet rigorous. These scientists have been collecting data for decades, and a very strong correlation can be seen between ocean temperature, CO2 concentrations, and industrialized centers; a correlation that does not make sense geographically. The ocean is slowly carbonating, and the slow, inevitable temperature shift for the additional solute is plainly progressing in the data.
What will be interesting is finding out how to place the hydrogen in the buckyballs. If a high-speed, industrialized process can be created - and it seems more like an engineering problem than a scientific barrier - then we will see a remarkable spike in utility. Small fuel cells could power devices and machines we would never have with combustion engines.
We're looking at some serious science fiction slowly coming true with small developments like these.
|
Leave a Reply:
|
|
