September 29, 2012

Catalysis: Optimizing water splitting




Computer simulations of a metal–sulfide alloy unlock the secrets to designing solar-powered catalysts that generate hydrogen fuel from water

Partnerships can pay off when it comes to converting solar into chemical energy. By modeling a cadmium sulfide (CdS)–zinc sulfide (ZnS) alloy with special computational techniques, a Singapore-based research team has identified the key photocatalytic properties that enable this chemical duo to ‘split’ water molecules into a fuel, hydrogen gas (H2). The theoretical study was published by Jianwei Zheng from the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing and his co-workers.