Enzyme system for the hydrogen industry

Platinum-free biocatalyst for fuel cells and water electrolysis

14-May-2021 - An enzyme could make a dream come true for the energy industry: It can efficiently produce hydrogen using electricity and can also generate electricity from hydrogen. The enzyme is protected by embedding it in a polymer. An international research team with significant participation of scientists ...

Precious metal-free silicone curing

Sustainable processes could replace precious metals in silicone crosslinking

03-Dec-2020 - Silicones are tried and tested in the private and professional domains. In many applications, however, expensive precious metals are required as catalysts to transform the liquid intermediate products to durable elastic polymers. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and ...

Activity of fuel cell catalysts doubled

Modelling leads to the optimum size for platinum fuel cell catalysts

04-Jul-2019 - An interdisciplinary research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has built platinum nanoparticles for catalysis in fuel cells: The new size-optimized catalysts are twice as good as the best process commercially available today. Fuel cells may well replace batteries as the power ...

Efficient catalyst for water splitting

New hybrid semiconductor material for sustainable hydrogen production

20-May-2019 - Chemists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed an efficient water splitting catalyst as part of a collaborative international research effort. The catalyst comprises a double-helix semiconductor structure encased in carbon nitride. It is perfect for producing hydrogen ...

Photochemical deracemization of chiral compounds achieved

The vanished mirror image

20-Dec-2018 - Enantiomeric molecules resemble each other like right and left hands. Both variants normally arise in chemical reactions. But frequently only one of the two forms is effectual in biology and medicine. Hitherto, completely converting this mixture into the desired enantiomer was deemed impossible. ...

Chemical hotspots

Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements identify active sites on catalysts

11-Sep-2017 - Chemistry live: Using a scanning tunneling microscope, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) were able for the very first time to witness in detail the activity of catalysts during an electro-chemical reaction. The measurements show how the surface structure of the catalysts ...

Leaving the island: Unusual desorption behavior on the surface of catalysts

03-Jun-2014 - The desorption of reaction products, for example, from the surface of an exaust catalyst, up to now was looked upon as a simple random process. Following this theory, the desorption events should be distributed randomly over the entire surface. However, many measurement results contradicted this ...

Climate killer as a climate rescuer

Surplus electrical power converts carbon dioxide into synthetic natural gas

09-Apr-2014 - When clouds cloak the sun, the production of solar power drops abruptly. When the wind lulls, wind parks quit producing energy. On the other hand, there are days on which wind power stations must be shut down because there is too much electricity in the grid. The “iC4” project funded by the ...

Bronze-Matryoshka: The metal in the metal in the metal

Design of new, highly efficient catalysts

17-Feb-2012 - A doll in a doll, and then one more, enveloping them from the outside – this is how Thomas Faessler explains his molecule. He packs one atom in a cage within an atom framework. With their large surfaces these structures can serve as highly efficient catalysts. Just like in the Russian wooden toy, ...

Mechanical engineering at the molecular level: Self-assembly of nano-rotors

29-Nov-2010 - Scientists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have managed to direct the self-assembly of rod-shaped molecules into rotors only few nanometers in size. The tiny systems serve the study of forces that act on molecules on surfaces and in cagelike structures. Their findings are ...