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US Scientists have developed a biological hydrogen catalyst that can be used to split water molecules, opening up the possibility of a cheaper, more sustainable source of hydrogen for power generation.
The researchers at Indiana University developed "P22-Hyd" by modifying an enzyme and placing it within a protective protein shell, a “capsid”, from a bacterial virus. The strengthened biological catalyst is 150 times more efficient than the original enzyme.
The material is potentially far less expensive and more environmentally friendly to produce than other materials currently used to create fuel cells. The costly and rare metal platinum, for example, is commonly used to catalyse hydrogen as fuel in products such as high-end concept cars.
Trevor Douglas, Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University's Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences, who led the study, said: "Essentially, we've taken a virus's ability to self-assemble myriad genetic building blocks and incorporated a very fragile and sensitive enzyme with the remarkable property of taking in protons and spitting out hydrogen gas. The end result is a virus-like particle that behaves the same as a highly sophisticated material that catalyses the production of hydrogen.
"This material is comparable to platinum, except it's truly renewable. You don't need to mine it; you can create it at room temperature on a massive scale using fermentation technology; it's biodegradable. It's a very green process to make a very high-end sustainable material."
The genetic material used to create the enzyme, hydrogenase, is produced by two genes from the common bacteria Escherichia coli and inserted inside the protective capsid using methods previously developed by the Indiana University scientists. The capsid comes from the bacterial virus known as bacteriophage P22.
The resulting biomaterial can be produced through a simple fermentation process at room temperature, making it suitable for use in manufacturing and commercial products such as cars, said the researchers.
In addition, P22-Hyd both breaks the chemical bonds of water to create hydrogen and also works in reverse to recombine hydrogen and oxygen to generate power. "The reaction runs both ways -- it can be used either as a hydrogen production catalyst or as a fuel cell catalyst.
"No one's ever had a way to create a large enough amount of this hydrogenase despite its incredible potential for biofuel production. But now we've got a method to stabilize and produce high quantities of the material -- and enormous increases in efficiency," Douglas added.
The team is also looking at using the biomaterial in solar panels.