In the race to combat climate change, hydrogen fuel has emerged as a promising contender to replace fossil fuels. However, producing hydrogen efficiently and sustainably has remained a significant challenge — until now. A serendipitous discovery by researchers at Drexel University’s College of Engineering could be the key to unlocking hydrogen’s potential as the clean fuel of the future.
Distinguished University Professor Michel Barsoum, PhD, and his team have developed a remarkable new material: titanium oxide nanofilaments that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen using only sunlight. This breakthrough offers a glimpse into a future where hydrogen could be produced cleanly and abundantly, potentially transforming sectors from transportation to heavy industry.
“What we’ve created is a new class of photocatalysts that outperforms current materials by an order of magnitude,” Barsoum explained. “More importantly, it remains stable and effective for months, addressing a long-standing barrier to the practical application of this technology.”
The discovery’s potential impact extends far beyond the laboratory. As nations worldwide grapple with the urgent need to decarbonize their economies, this novel material could play a crucial role in achieving ambitious clean energy targets. It offers a path to hydrogen production that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels or energy-intensive processes, aligning perfectly with global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this breakthrough is the story behind it — a tale of scientific serendipity that underscores the unpredictable nature of innovation.
The path to this discovery was anything but straightforward. In fact, it was a fortunate accident that occurred while the team was working on improving the production of MXenes, a family of two-dimensional nanomaterials first discovered at Drexel more than a decade ago.
“We were attempting to develop a safer synthesis route for MXenes, which typically involves the use of concentrated hydrofluoric acid,” Barsoum recounted. “Our goal was to replace this hazardous acid with tetramethylammonium hydroxide, a large organic base commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing.”
Instead of producing the intended MXenes, this process resulted in the oxidation of the starting material (known as the MAX phase), yielding the one-dimensional nanofilaments with a lepidocrocite-structured titanium oxide. These nanofilaments, barely visible to the naked eye, are so thin that a single gram, if laid end-to-end, would span an astonishing 400 million miles.
The team didn’t immediately recognize the full potential of their accidental creation. It was through collaboration with Professor Mihaela Florea from the University of Bucharest, an expert in photocatalytic water splitting, that they began to explore the material’s capabilities for hydrogen production.
“Titanium dioxide has long been recognized as a promising material for photocatalytic water splitting,” Barsoum noted. “Professor Florea’s expertise was instrumental in guiding our research in this direction.”
What sets these nanofilaments apart from existing materials like P25, the current industry standard for titanium dioxide-based photocatalysts, is their remarkable stability in water and significantly higher surface area. Barsoum emphasized, “For water splitting applications, aqueous stability is crucial. Our material maintains its stability, unlike P25 and other nano-titanium dioxide materials that tend to clump in water, reducing their effectiveness.”
The nanofilaments boast a specific surface area theoretically exceeding 1,500 square meters per gram, far surpassing that of P25. This increased surface area translates to more active sites for hydrogen production, potentially making the process significantly more efficient.
Since the initial discovery, the research team has expanded their investigation into other potential applications of the nanofilaments. PhD candidate Adam Walter has been exploring their use in photocatalytic water treatment, studying the adsorption and degradation of model dye systems. “We’ve observed record uptake values for a TiO2-based material, as well as visible light degradation of the model dyes,” Walter reported.
The focus on hydrogen production aligns with current trends in sustainable energy research. “There’s been substantial investment in hydrogen technology across the United States,” Barsoum noted. “The potential impact of advancements in this field is significant, both in research and practical applications.”
However, the path from laboratory discovery to commercial application is a long road. The team has formed a startup, 1Dnano, led by Drexel alumnus Gregory Schwenk, PhD ’22, to explore the commercial potential of their discovery. Initially focused solely on photocatalytic hydrogen generation, they’ve additionally started to investigate the nanofilaments as catalysts in electrochemical water splitting, a more commercially viable approach in the near term.
This strategic shift has already yielded results, with 1Dnano securing funding from Drexel’s Innovation Fund and Schwenk being named an Activate Fellow, a significant achievement in scientific entrepreneurship.
As Barsoum and his team continue their work, both the scientific community and the energy sector watch with keen interest. If successful, this technology could play a crucial role in transitioning away from fossil fuels, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. It has the potential to enhance the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for applications ranging from personal transportation to large-scale industrial processes.
This serendipitous discovery serves as a powerful reminder of the value of curiosity-driven research and the potential for unexpected outcomes in scientific inquiry. As we stand on the brink of a potential energy revolution, it’s clear that sometimes the most impactful scientific discoveries come from the most unexpected places. Barsoum’s nanofilaments, born from an attempt to improve another process, might just be the key to unlocking a sustainable, hydrogen-powered future.
