Promising results are a step toward a range of renewable
energy strategies fueled by Nature
In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Energy
& Environmental Science (now available online), researchers at the U.S.
Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory describe details of a
low-cost, stable, effective catalyst that could replace costly platinum in the
production of hydrogen. The catalyst, made from renewable soybeans and abundant
molybdenum metal, produces hydrogen in an environmentally friendly,
cost-effective manner, potentially increasing the use of this clean energy
source.
The research has already garnered widespread recognition for
Shilpa and Shweta Iyer, twin-sister high school students who contributed to the
research as part of an internship under the guidance of Brookhaven chemist
Wei-Fu Chen, supported by projects led by James Muckerman, Etsuko Fujita, and
Kotaro Sasaki.