Researchers Extract Hydrogen Using 'Defective' Nanostructures

"A team of scientists and students at North Carolina State University (NCSU) recently found that they were able to cut the energy consumption in half when using "defective" carbon nanotubes to extract hydrogen from water. The researchers, operating on the knowledge that a water molecule interacts with a carbon nanostructure, discovered that "defective" carbon nanotubes make it easier to "break" water molecules and extract hydrogen. Their published results, "Dissociation of Water on Defective Carbon Substrates" in Physical Review Letters (Sept. 30), reveal that naturally occurring defects in the nanotubes increase the rate of a chemical reaction because the atoms that form the defective nanotubes are "incomplete," making them more reactive." Source: renewableenergyaccess.com