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Friday, 14th December 2007 (8548 views)

Recent experiments in the field of fuel cell reaction have reportedly discovered an "unexpected" use for gold nanoparticles, it has emerged.

According to a statement released by Brookhaven National Laboratory, a team of scientists at the US Department of Energy used the tiny gold particles as catalysts in a reaction to convert the carbon monoxide created during the production of hydrogen into carbon dioxide.

Both gold-cerium oxide and gold-titanium oxide were cited as "efficient catalysts" for the reaction, said chemist Jose Rodriguez.

He added that the success of gold use in the reaction – called water-gas shift (WGS) – was a surprise, as bulk gold alone is not an active catalyst.

"For the first time, we established that although pure gold is inert for the WGS reaction, if you put a small amount of ceria or titanium on it, it becomes extremely active," he said.

Results from the experiment are set to be published in detail in the journal Science, which is available from December 14th.

In related science news, the Brookhaven National Laboratory also announced it is now accepting applications for its annual women in science scholarship programme this week.

 

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