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Published on January 21, 2025
University of Oklahoma Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Hydrogen Energy StorageSource: Google Street View

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have developed a new method to measure hydrogen transfer energy in complex materials. The study, led by doctoral student Nazmiye Gökçe Altınçekic and Assistant Professor Hyunho Noh, focuses on a hybrid material called a metal-organic framework (MOF), which could have significant applications in energy storage.

According to the University of Oklahoma release, the research aims to find more carbon-neutral fuels in response to climate change. The OU team used open-circuit potential to analyze energy changes during hydrogen reactions. Hyunho Noh stated, "This type of reaction is needed to move from fossil fuels to more carbon-neutral fuel sources." Noh also emphasized the need for balancing hydrogen bonds, saying, "We don’t want the binding energy to be too low or too high. If the reactivity is too weak, the bond between the hydrogen atom and the surface will never form. If it’s too strong, the hydrogen atom will never leave the surface,."

Previously, developing such catalysts was uncertain, but Altınçekic and Noh’s method directly measured the MOF’s binding energy and adjusted it for better performance. Chance Lander, a fourth-year doctoral student, used computational chemistry to predict how hydrogen atoms interact with the MOF at the atomic level.

Lander’s predictions showed unexpected bonding energy interactions. "We wanted to investigate if the placement of hydrogen atoms on the MOF caused significant bonding impacts. By using computational chemistry, we were able to go step by step, testing multiple configurations, and observe what happens at the atomic level," Lander said in the same release. The OU study lays the foundation for developing titanium dioxide materials, which could be crucial for clean energy.

According to the release, the paper, titled "Electrochemically Determined and Structurally Justified Thermochemistry of H atom Transfer on Ti-Oxo Nodes of the Colloidal Metal-Organic Framework Ti-MIL-125," was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The University of Oklahoma, supported by financial and institutional backing, along with academic collaboration from Northwestern University, underpins this research.