Developing materials for controlled hydrogen production through water splitting, is one of the most promising ways to meet current energy demand. Here, we demonstrate spontaneous and green production of hydrogen at high evolution rate using gadolinium telluride (GdTe) under ambient conditions. The spent materials can be reused after melting, which regains the original activity of the pristine sample. The phase formation and reusability are supported by the thermodynamics calculations. The theoretical calculation reveals ultra-low activation energy for hydrogen production using GdTe caused by charge transfer from Te to Gd. Production of highly pure and instantaneous hydrogen by GdTe could accelerate green and sustainable energy conversion technologies.
Keywords: Telluride, Gadolinium, hydrogen production, energy harvesting, DFT simulation
Kumbhakar, Partha and Parui, Arko and Dhakar, Shikha and Paliwal, Manas and Behera, Rakesh and Gautam, Abhay Raj Singh and Roy, Soumyabrata and Ajayan, Pulickel M. and Sharma, Sudhanshu and Singh, Abhisek and Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar Sekhar, Spontaneous Hydrogen Production Using Gadolinium Telluride. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4257428 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4257428
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.
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