title: Spontaneous hydrogen generation from organic-capped Al nanoparticles and water.
abstract: The development of technologies that would lead toward the adoption of a hydrogen economy requires readily available, safe, and environmentally friendly access to hydrogen. This can be achieved using the aluminum-water reaction; however, the protective nature and stability of aluminum oxide is a clear detriment to its application. Here, we demonstrate the spontaneous generation of hydrogen gas from ordinary room-temperature tap water when combined with aluminum-oleic acid core-shell nanoparticles obtained via sonochemistry. The reaction is found to be near-complete (>95% yield hydrogen) with a tunable rate from 6.4x10(-4) to 0.01 g of H2/s/g of Al and to yield an environmentally benign byproduct. The potential of these nanoparticles as a source of hydrogen gas for power generation is demonstrated using a simple fuel cell with an applied load.
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Bunker
authors.forename: Marcus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: K A Shiral
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Harruff
authors.forename: William K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gord
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Guliants
authors.forename: Donald K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Phelps
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D019301:Oleic Acid; D006859:Hydrogen; D000535:Aluminum