Water splitting is a way to make hydrogen gas from water, which could be a clean future energy source, but it’s not easy because the reaction that makes oxygen is slow.

This slowness makes hydrogen production expensive and not very efficient. Now, scientists  the Max Planck Institute and the Weizmann Institute of Science have found a new way to make this process work better.

The scientists describe the methods and results of this study in a paper published in Nature Energy. They have used chiral crystals, in which the atoms are arranged in a way that has a left or right-handed twist. These crystals, made from rhodium mixed with silicon, tin, or bismuth, do something amazing with electrons.

Electrons have a property called “spin,” which is like having a little bit of magnetism. Normally, this spin doesn’t affect much in chemical reactions, but these chiral crystals use this spin to make the oxygen part of the water splitting reaction happen much faster. This speeds up the whole process significantly.

Quantum machines for clean energy

In a press release issued by Max Planck Institute, research co-leader Xia Wang described these crystals as “quantum machines” because they use quantum mechanics to work their magic. She says these new crystals are 200 times better than what we used before.

This could change how we think about producing hydrogen, making it cheaper and more efficient. This means we might be able to use hydrogen as a clean energy source more easily in the future.

Researcher Binghai Yan admits that these crystals use some rare materials right now, but he’s optimistic that they’ll soon find ways to make this new method sustainable and practical.

By blending advanced quantum physics with real-world problems, this research shows how science can lead to practical solutions for our energy needs, moving us towards a cleaner, more sustainable way to power our world.

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