Generation of Hydrogen through the Reaction between Plasma‐Modified Aluminum and Water

Abstract

One of the main challenges related to hydrogen energy technologies is hydrogen storage in a safe and economically reasonable way. A promising solution could be related to the use of aluminum or its alloys to reduce water to form hydrogen when needed. The aluminum–water reaction is thermodynamically favorable, but does not proceed due to the passivation of the aluminum surface by the protective aluminum oxide layer, which prevents water molecules from coming into direct contact with metal particles. Herein, the surface of aluminum particles was modified by using a low‐temperature plasma‐activation approach. Such a modification induces a hydrophilicity effect and the modified aluminum powder sinks instantly in water, whereas unmodified powder floats on the top of the water. The plasma‐based activation technology is also discussed in detail. The structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by using SEM, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and XRD. BET surface area analyses were also performed. The elemental composition on the nanoscale level and formation of polar groups were experimentally investigated by using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Amounts of oxygen/hydrogen were measured by using the inert‐gas fusion method. Tests show that hydrogen production starts after 1 min of aluminum powder immersion into slightly alkaline water and continues for up to 20 min. The reaction by‐product is environmentally friendly and could be used for the production of aluminum oxide.

The Combination of Simultaneous Plasma Treatment with Mg Nanoparticles Deposition Technique for Better Mung Bean Seeds Germination

“…These results revealed that the plasma treatment invoked a reduction of non-polar groups on the seeds surface and increased its energy. Hence, the surface energy increment determined the formation of strongly polar functional groups on the seeds surface [41,42]. The polar/non-polar groups ratio and chemical bonds concentrations of the C1s peak are presented in Table 2.…”

Production of Gamma Alumina Using Plasma-Treated Aluminum and Water Reaction Byproducts

“…The insignificant increase of BET surface area was measured after plasma activation (3.75 m 2 /g), while the value for initial Al powder was 3.51 m 2 /g. A detailed interpretation of Al powder surface morphology alteration and particularly change of surface chemical structure caused by plasma treatment was presented in our previous work [30].…”

“…A vacuum system enabled an initial pressure of 1.5 × 10 −3 Pa. The pressure during plasma treatment was 13 Pa [30]. Modified aluminum powder was immersed into the open glass vessel with distilled water, heated to 40 • C. Although the reaction between aluminum and water is exothermic (enthalpy is about 280 kJ/mol H 2 ), even better reaction kinetics can be achieved using warm water.…”

“…A vacuum system enabled an initial pressure of 1.5•× 10 −3 Pa. The pressure during plasma treatment was 13 Pa [30]. Modified aluminum powder was immersed into the open glass vessel with distilled water, heated to 40 °C.…”

“…This led to a fast aluminum/water reaction at 40 • C and the production of hydrogen and a solid reaction byproduct. Our previous paper describes aluminum activation in plasma, where according to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, an aluminum surface was altered, as well as kinetics of a reaction with water was described in a detailed way [30]. High-purity hydrogen can be used for electricity generation employing proton-exchange membrane fuel cells.…”