Hydrogen is often touted as a future energy solution, especially when generated through environmentally friendly methods. Beyond its energy potential, hydrogen plays a crucial role in producing active ingredients and various essential compounds. To generate hydrogen, water (H2O) can be transformed into hydrogen gas (H2) through a sequence of chemical reactions.
However, as water molecules are very stable, splitting them into hydrogen and oxygen presents a big challenge to chemists. For it to succeed at all, the water first has to be activated using a catalyst – then it reacts more easily.
A team of researchers led by Prof. Armido Studer at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at Münster University (Germany) has developed a photocatalytic process in which water, under mild reaction conditions, is activated through triaryl phosphines and not, as in most other processes, through transition metal complexes.
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