New metal hydride clusters provide insights into hydrogen storage

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2011) — A study published by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) has shed first-ever light on a class of heterometallic molecular structures whose unique features point the way to breakthroughs in the development of lightweight fuel cell technology. The structures contain a previously-unexplored combination of rare-earth and d-transition metals ideally suited to the compact storage of hydrogen.

The most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen holds great promise as a source of clean, renewable energy, producing nothing but water as a byproduct and thus avoiding the environmental dangers associated with existing mainstream energy sources. Broad adoption of hydrogen, however, has stalled because in its natural gaseous state, the element simply takes up too much space to store and transport efficiently.

One way to solve this problem is to use metal hydrides, metallic compounds that incorporate hydrogen atoms, as a storage medium for hydrogen. In this technique, the metal hydrides bind to hydrogen to produce a solid one thousand times or more smaller than the original hydrogen gas. The hydrogen can then later be released from the solid by heating it to a given temperature.

The new heterometallic hydride clusters synthesized by the RIKEN researchers use rare-earth and d-transition metals as building blocks and exploit the advantages of both. Rare earth metal hydrides remove one major obstacle by enabling analysis using X-ray diffraction, a technique which is infeasible for most other metal hydrides -- offering unique insights into underlying reaction processes involved. Rare earth metal hydrides on their own, however, do not undergo reversible hydrogen addition and release, the cornerstone of hydrogen storage. This becomes possible through the addition of a d-transition metal, in this case tungsten (W) or molybdenum (Mo).

While rare-earth / d-transition metal-type metallic hydride complexes have been studied in the past, the current research is the first to explore complexes with multiple rare earth atoms of the form Ln4MHn and with well-defined structures (Ln = a rare-earth metal such as yttrium, M = a d-transition metal, either tungsten or molybdenum, and H = hydrogen). In a paper in Nature Chemistry, the researchers show that these complexes exhibit unique reactivity properties, pointing the way to new hydrogen storage techniques and promising environmentally-friendly solutions to today's pressing energy needs.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by RIKEN.

Journal Reference:

Takanori Shima, Yi Luo, Timothy Stewart, Robert Bau, Garry J. McIntyre, Sax A. Mason, Zhaomin Hou. Molecular heterometallic hydride clusters composed of rare-earth and d-transition metals. Nature Chemistry, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1147

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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New metal hydride clusters provide insights into hydrogen storage

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2011) — A study published by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) has shed first-ever light on a class of heterometallic molecular structures whose unique features point the way to breakthroughs in the development of lightweight fuel cell technology. The structures contain a previously-unexplored combination of rare-earth and d-transition metals ideally suited to the compact storage of hydrogen.

The most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen holds great promise as a source of clean, renewable energy, producing nothing but water as a byproduct and thus avoiding the environmental dangers associated with existing mainstream energy sources. Broad adoption of hydrogen, however, has stalled because in its natural gaseous state, the element simply takes up too much space to store and transport efficiently.

One way to solve this problem is to use metal hydrides, metallic compounds that incorporate hydrogen atoms, as a storage medium for hydrogen. In this technique, the metal hydrides bind to hydrogen to produce a solid one thousand times or more smaller than the original hydrogen gas. The hydrogen can then later be released from the solid by heating it to a given temperature.

The new heterometallic hydride clusters synthesized by the RIKEN researchers use rare-earth and d-transition metals as building blocks and exploit the advantages of both. Rare earth metal hydrides remove one major obstacle by enabling analysis using X-ray diffraction, a technique which is infeasible for most other metal hydrides -- offering unique insights into underlying reaction processes involved. Rare earth metal hydrides on their own, however, do not undergo reversible hydrogen addition and release, the cornerstone of hydrogen storage. This becomes possible through the addition of a d-transition metal, in this case tungsten (W) or molybdenum (Mo).

While rare-earth / d-transition metal-type metallic hydride complexes have been studied in the past, the current research is the first to explore complexes with multiple rare earth atoms of the form Ln4MHn and with well-defined structures (Ln = a rare-earth metal such as yttrium, M = a d-transition metal, either tungsten or molybdenum, and H = hydrogen). In a paper in Nature Chemistry, the researchers show that these complexes exhibit unique reactivity properties, pointing the way to new hydrogen storage techniques and promising environmentally-friendly solutions to today's pressing energy needs.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by RIKEN.

Journal Reference:

Takanori Shima, Yi Luo, Timothy Stewart, Robert Bau, Garry J. McIntyre, Sax A. Mason, Zhaomin Hou. Molecular heterometallic hydride clusters composed of rare-earth and d-transition metals. Nature Chemistry, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1147

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New insights on how solar minimums affect Earth

ScienceDaily (June 14, 2011) — Since 1611, humans have recorded the comings and goings of black spots on the sun. The number of these sunspots waxes and wanes over approximately an 11-year cycle -- more sunspots generally mean more activity and eruptions on the sun and vice versa. The number of sunspots can change from cycle to cycle, and 2008 saw the longest and weakest solar minimum since scientists have been monitoring the sun with space-based instruments.

Observations have shown, however, that magnetic effects on Earth due to the sun, effects that cause the aurora to appear, did not go down in synch with the cycle of low magnetism on the sun. Now, a paper in Annales Geophysicae that appeared on May 16, 2011 reports that these effects on Earth did in fact reach a minimum -- indeed they attained their lowest levels of the century -- but some eight months later. The scientists believe that factors in the speed of the solar wind, and the strength and direction of the magnetic fields embedded within it, helped produce this anomalous low.

"Historically, the solar minimum is defined by sunspot number," says space weather scientist Bruce Tsurutani at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who is first author on the paper. "Based on that, 2008 was identified as the period of solar minimum. But the geomagnetic effects on Earth reached their minimum quite some time later, in 2009. So we decided to look at what caused the geomagnetic minimum."

Geomagnetic effects basically amount to any magnetic changes on Earth due to the sun, and they're measured by magnetometer readings on the surface of Earth. Such effects are usually harmless, with the only obvious sign of their presence being the appearance of auroras near the poles. However, in extreme cases, they can cause power grid failures on Earth or induce dangerous currents in long pipelines, so it is valuable to know how the geomagnetic effects vary with the sun.

Three things help determine how much energy from the sun is transferred to Earth's magnetosphere from the solar wind: the speed of the solar wind, the strength of the magnetic field outside Earth's bounds (known as the interplanetary magnetic field) and which direction it is pointing, since a large southward component is necessary to connect successfully to Earth's magnetosphere and transfer energy. The team -- which also included Walter Gonzalez and Ezequiel Echer of the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research in São José dos Campos, Brazil -- examined each component in turn.

First, the researchers noted that in 2008 and 2009, the interplanetary magnetic field was the lowest it had been in the history of the space age. This was an obvious contribution to the geomagnetic minimum. But since the geomagnetic effects didn't drop in 2008, it could not be the only factor.

To examine the speed of the solar wind, they turned to NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), which is in interplanetary space outside Earth's magnetosphere, approximately 1 million miles toward the sun. The ACE data showed that the speed of the solar wind stayed high during the sunspot minimum. Only later did it begin a steady decline, correlating to the timing of the decline in geomagnetic effects.

The next step was to understand what caused this decrease. The team found a culprit in something called coronal holes. Coronal holes are darker, colder areas within the sun's outer atmosphere. Fast solar wind shoots out the center of coronal holes at speeds up to 500 miles per second, but wind flowing out of the sides slows down as it expands into space.

"Usually, at solar minimum, the coronal holes are at the sun's poles," says Giuliana de Toma, a solar scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research whose research on this topic helped provide insight for this paper. "Therefore, Earth receives wind from only the edges of these holes, and it's not very fast. But in 2007 and 2008, the coronal holes were not confined to the poles as normal."

Those coronal holes lingered at low latitudes to the end of 2008. Consequently, the center of the holes stayed firmly pointed towards Earth, sending fast solar wind in Earth's direction. Only as they finally appeared closer to the poles in 2009 did the speed of the solar wind at Earth begin to slow down. And, of course, the geomagnetic effects and sightings of the aurora along with it.

Coronal holes seem to be responsible for minimizing the southward direction of the interplanetary magnetic field as well. The solar wind's magnetic fields oscillate on the journey from the sun to Earth. These fluctuations are known as Alfvén waves. The wind coming out of the centers of the coronal holes has large fluctuations, meaning that the southward magnetic component -- like that in all the directions -- is fairly large. The wind that comes from the edges, however, has smaller fluctuations, and comparably smaller southward components. So, once again, coronal holes at lower latitudes would have a better chance of connecting with Earth's magnetosphere and causing geomagnetic effects, while mid-latitude holes would be less effective.

Working together, these three factors -- low interplanetary magnetic field strength, combined with slower solar wind speed and smaller magnetic fluctuations due to coronal hole placement -- create the perfect environment for a geomagnetic minimum.

Knowing what situations cause and suppress intense geomagnetic activity on Earth is a step toward better predicting when such events might happen. To do so well, Tsurutani points out, requires focusing on the tight connection between such effects and the complex physics of the sun. "It's important to understand all of these features better," he says. "To understand what causes low interplanetary magnetic fields and what causes coronal holes in general. This is all part of the solar cycle. And all part of what causes effects on Earth."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The original article was written by Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Journal Reference:

B. T. Tsurutani, E. Echer, W. D. Gonzalez. The solar and interplanetary causes of the recent minimum in geomagnetic activity (MGA23): a combination of midlatitude small coronal holes, low IMF BZ variances, low solar wind speeds and low solar magnetic fields. Annales Geophysicae, 2011; 29 (5): 839 DOI: 10.5194/angeo-29-839-2011

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New insights on how solar minimums affect Earth

ScienceDaily (June 14, 2011) — Since 1611, humans have recorded the comings and goings of black spots on the sun. The number of these sunspots waxes and wanes over approximately an 11-year cycle -- more sunspots generally mean more activity and eruptions on the sun and vice versa. The number of sunspots can change from cycle to cycle, and 2008 saw the longest and weakest solar minimum since scientists have been monitoring the sun with space-based instruments.

Observations have shown, however, that magnetic effects on Earth due to the sun, effects that cause the aurora to appear, did not go down in synch with the cycle of low magnetism on the sun. Now, a paper in Annales Geophysicae that appeared on May 16, 2011 reports that these effects on Earth did in fact reach a minimum -- indeed they attained their lowest levels of the century -- but some eight months later. The scientists believe that factors in the speed of the solar wind, and the strength and direction of the magnetic fields embedded within it, helped produce this anomalous low.

"Historically, the solar minimum is defined by sunspot number," says space weather scientist Bruce Tsurutani at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who is first author on the paper. "Based on that, 2008 was identified as the period of solar minimum. But the geomagnetic effects on Earth reached their minimum quite some time later, in 2009. So we decided to look at what caused the geomagnetic minimum."

Geomagnetic effects basically amount to any magnetic changes on Earth due to the sun, and they're measured by magnetometer readings on the surface of Earth. Such effects are usually harmless, with the only obvious sign of their presence being the appearance of auroras near the poles. However, in extreme cases, they can cause power grid failures on Earth or induce dangerous currents in long pipelines, so it is valuable to know how the geomagnetic effects vary with the sun.

Three things help determine how much energy from the sun is transferred to Earth's magnetosphere from the solar wind: the speed of the solar wind, the strength of the magnetic field outside Earth's bounds (known as the interplanetary magnetic field) and which direction it is pointing, since a large southward component is necessary to connect successfully to Earth's magnetosphere and transfer energy. The team -- which also included Walter Gonzalez and Ezequiel Echer of the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research in São José dos Campos, Brazil -- examined each component in turn.

First, the researchers noted that in 2008 and 2009, the interplanetary magnetic field was the lowest it had been in the history of the space age. This was an obvious contribution to the geomagnetic minimum. But since the geomagnetic effects didn't drop in 2008, it could not be the only factor.

To examine the speed of the solar wind, they turned to NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), which is in interplanetary space outside Earth's magnetosphere, approximately 1 million miles toward the sun. The ACE data showed that the speed of the solar wind stayed high during the sunspot minimum. Only later did it begin a steady decline, correlating to the timing of the decline in geomagnetic effects.

The next step was to understand what caused this decrease. The team found a culprit in something called coronal holes. Coronal holes are darker, colder areas within the sun's outer atmosphere. Fast solar wind shoots out the center of coronal holes at speeds up to 500 miles per second, but wind flowing out of the sides slows down as it expands into space.

"Usually, at solar minimum, the coronal holes are at the sun's poles," says Giuliana de Toma, a solar scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research whose research on this topic helped provide insight for this paper. "Therefore, Earth receives wind from only the edges of these holes, and it's not very fast. But in 2007 and 2008, the coronal holes were not confined to the poles as normal."

Those coronal holes lingered at low latitudes to the end of 2008. Consequently, the center of the holes stayed firmly pointed towards Earth, sending fast solar wind in Earth's direction. Only as they finally appeared closer to the poles in 2009 did the speed of the solar wind at Earth begin to slow down. And, of course, the geomagnetic effects and sightings of the aurora along with it.

Coronal holes seem to be responsible for minimizing the southward direction of the interplanetary magnetic field as well. The solar wind's magnetic fields oscillate on the journey from the sun to Earth. These fluctuations are known as Alfvén waves. The wind coming out of the centers of the coronal holes has large fluctuations, meaning that the southward magnetic component -- like that in all the directions -- is fairly large. The wind that comes from the edges, however, has smaller fluctuations, and comparably smaller southward components. So, once again, coronal holes at lower latitudes would have a better chance of connecting with Earth's magnetosphere and causing geomagnetic effects, while mid-latitude holes would be less effective.

Working together, these three factors -- low interplanetary magnetic field strength, combined with slower solar wind speed and smaller magnetic fluctuations due to coronal hole placement -- create the perfect environment for a geomagnetic minimum.

Knowing what situations cause and suppress intense geomagnetic activity on Earth is a step toward better predicting when such events might happen. To do so well, Tsurutani points out, requires focusing on the tight connection between such effects and the complex physics of the sun. "It's important to understand all of these features better," he says. "To understand what causes low interplanetary magnetic fields and what causes coronal holes in general. This is all part of the solar cycle. And all part of what causes effects on Earth."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The original article was written by Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Journal Reference:

B. T. Tsurutani, E. Echer, W. D. Gonzalez. The solar and interplanetary causes of the recent minimum in geomagnetic activity (MGA23): a combination of midlatitude small coronal holes, low IMF BZ variances, low solar wind speeds and low solar magnetic fields. Annales Geophysicae, 2011; 29 (5): 839 DOI: 10.5194/angeo-29-839-2011

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New insights on an old material will enable design of better polymer batteries, water purification

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2011) — Designing new materials depends upon understanding the properties of today's materials. One such material, Nafion ©, is a polymer that efficiently conducts ions (a polymer electrolyte) and water through its nanostructure, making it important for many energy-related industrial applications, including in fuel cells, organic batteries, and reverse-osmosis water purification. But since Nafion was invented 50 years ago, scientists have only been able to speculate about how to build new materials because they have not been able to see details on how the molecules come together and work within Nafion.

Now, two Virginia Tech research groups have combined forces to devise a way to measure Nafion's internal structure and, in the process, have discovered how to manipulate this structure to enhance the material's applications.

The research is published in the June 19 issue of Nature Materials in the Letters article, "Linear coupling of alignment with transport in a polymer electrolyte membrane," by Jing Li, Jong Keun Park, Robert B. Moore, and Louis A. Madsen, all with the chemistry department in the College of Science and the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute at Virginia Tech.

Nafion is made up of molecules that combine the non-stick and tough nature of Teflon with the conductive properties of an acid, such as battery acid. A network of tiny channels, nanometers in size, carries water or ions quickly through the polymer. "But, due to the irregular structure of Nafion, scientists have not been able to get reliable information about its properties using most standard analysis tools, such as transmission electron microscopy," said Madsen, assistant professor of physical, polymer, and materials chemistry.

Madsen and Moore, professor of physical and polymer chemistry; Madsen's post-doctoral associate Jing Li; and Moore's Ph.D. student Jong Keun Park, of Korea, were able to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)to measure molecular motion, and a combination of NMR and X-ray scattering to measure molecular alignment within Nafion. "We were looking at water molecules inside Nafion as internal reporters of structure and efficiency of conduction," said Madsen. "The new feature we discovered is the locally aligned aggregates of polymer molecules in the material. The molecules align like strands of dry spaghetti lined up in a box. We can measure the speed (diffusion) of the water molecules and the direction they travel within those structures, which relates strongly to the alignment of the polymer molecule strands."

The researchers observed that the alignment of the channels influenced the speed and preferential direction of water motion. And a startlingly clear picture presented itself when the scientists stretched the Nafion and measured its structure and water motion.

"Stretching drastically influences the degree of alignment," said Madsen. "So the molecules move faster along the direction of the stretch, and in a very predictable way. These materials actually share some properties with liquid crystals -- molecules that line up with each other and are used in every LCD television, projector, and screen."

These relationships have not been previously recognized in a polymer electrolyte, Madsen said.

The ability to observe motion and direction, and understand what is happening within Nafion, has implications for using the material in new ways, and for designing new materials, the researchers write in the Nature Materials article. Ion-based applications could include actuator devices such as artificial muscles, organic batteries, and more energy efficient fuel cells. A water-based application would be improved reverse osmosis membranes for water purification.

Madsen and Moore started this collaborative project shortly after they arrived at Virginia Tech (Madsen in 2006, Moore in 2007), and they are furthering their work together by investigating new polymeric materials using their unique combination of analysis techniques.

"Alignment provides for a better flow of the molecules through the polymer," Madsen said.

The research is supported by Madsen's National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. His research focuses on improving advanced polymers for fuel cells and reverse-osmosis water purification by combining detailed analysis of these materials with theoretical understanding. The research is also supported by the US Army Research Office under Ionic Liquids in Electro-Active Devices (ILEAD) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Virginia Tech, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Jing Li, Jong Keun Park, Robert B. Moore and Louis A. Madsen. Linear coupling of alignment with transport in a polymer electrolyte membrane. Nature Materials, June 19 2011 DOI: 10.1038/NMAT3048

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here