Andre Geim behind new graphene breakthrough

GRAPHENE scientists believe the material could revolutionise green energy and electric cars by radically improving fuel cell technology.

Researchers have discovered that graphene allows positively charged hydrogen atoms or protons to pass through it despite being completely impermeable to all other gases.

The team, led by the Nobel prize winner and discoverer of graphene Sir Andre Geim of Manchester University, said the finding also raised the possibility that, in future, graphene membranes could be used to “sieve” hydrogen gas from the atmosphere to then generate electricity.

Geim’s co-researcher on the study, Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo, said: “We are very excited about this result because it opens a whole new area of promising applications for graphene in clean energy harvesting and hydrogen-based technologies.”

Graphene, the thinnest material on earth at just one atom thick, and 200 times stronger than steel, was first isolated in 2004 by Sir Andrew and Sir Kostya Novoselov, who were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010 for their work. It is renowned for being impermeable to all gases and liquids, giving it the potential for a range of uses such as corrosion-proof coatings.

Against expectations, the latest research, published in Nature, found the protons could pass through the ultra-strong material fairly easily, especially at raised temperatures and if the graphene films were covered with nanoparticles such as platinum, which acted as a catalyst.

Fuel cells, used in some modern cars, use oxygen and hydrogen as fuel and convert the input chemical energy into electricity. But a major problem is that the fuels leak across the existing proton membranes, “poisoning” the process and reducing the cells’ efficiency, something Geim said could be overcome using graphene.

The team also found that graphene membranes could be used to extract hydrogen from the atmosphere, suggesting the possibility of combining them with fuel cells to make mobile electric generators powered just by the tiny amounts of hydrogen in the air.

“Essentially, you pump your fuel from the atmosphere and get electricity out of it,” said Sir Andre. “Our (study) provides proof that this kind of device is possible.”

The £61m National Graphene Institute, which will be dedicated to research into the material, is due to open at Manchester University in March.

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