Osaka University Chemists Create Catalyst for Safe, Efficient and Cost Effective Production of Hydrogen from Formic Acid Without Toxic By-Products

Osaka University (Suita-shi, Osaka, JP) Professor of Engineering in the Department of Material and Life Science Shunichi Fukuzumi and Tomoyoshi Suenobu created an environmentally friendly to decompose formic acid and produce safely and efficiently, useful amounts of hydrogen at low cost at normal temperature and pressure. The dinuclear metal complex catalyst is detailed in U.S. Patent Application 20100034733.  The catalyst makes it possible to obtain hydrogen without forming a toxic by-product. 

The method makes it is possible to store hydrogen in the form of formic acid, which is a safe compound, and obtain hydrogen by efficiently decomposing formic acid using the catalyst developed by Fukuzumi and Suebobu. Moreover, the catalyst for the decomposition of formic acid has high formic acid decomposition reactivity and, therefore, can provide hydrogen efficiently.

Furthermore, for example, it is also possible to obtain hydrogen by carrying out the formic acid decomposition reaction at room temperature (at normal temperature and pressure) without applying any external energy such as heat. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the release of CO₂ from an external heat source or the like into the atmosphere, and so the catalyst even can contribute to, for example, the global issue of the reduction of CO₂. Moreover, not only can the reaction be carried out at room temperature, but also the formic acid decomposition reaction can be carried out even more efficiently by heating. Furthermore, hydrogen can be obtained without the formation of a toxic by-product.

The catalyst for the decomposition of formic acid  may be dissolved in, for example, an organic solvent, but when water alone is used as the solvent, undesirable effects on the environment can be reduced even more, so it is expected that the catalyst will be increasingly used as a novel ecological technology in various industrial applications. Moreover, the catalyst can also contribute to resource savings because of its good turnover efficiency. The catalyst can be used in, for example, formic acid fuel cells and the like as a catalyst for the decomposition of formic acid. Furthermore, the applications of the catalyst for the decomposition of formic acid are not limited and the catalyst can be used in every technical field in which a supply of hydrogen (H₂) is needed. 

Hydrogen (H₂) is used in many different applications, such as the synthesis of various substances, reduction, hydrodesulfurization of petroleum, and hydrogenolysis, and is needed in every industrial field. For example, fuel cells, which have been attracting attention in recent years, are capable of supplying electricity continuously and efficiently when reactants such as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied externally thereto.

Research on the fuel (reactant) of practical fuel cells mainly has focused on the use of methanol. However, when methanol is burned, formation of a poisoned by-product, for example, incompletely oxidized substances such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, on the surface of an electrode catalyst is a problem. Thus, it is desirable to supply hydrogen, which is a clean fuel, to fuel cell electrodes. For the foregoing reasons, hydrogen supply or storage techniques are industrially very important. However, the stable supply or storage of hydrogen has been difficult so far because hydrogen is a gas at room temperature, has high reactivity and thus readily ignites in air.  The Osaka researchers believe they have a credible solution to safe hydrogen storage and production.