Hydrogen as a Climate-neutral Fuel

A team of researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz has succeeded in observing the transfer of protons in a hydrogenase reaction. No 391/2019 from Dec 13, 2019 Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz have found evidence for the design of so-called biomimetic catalysts. These chemical complexes that mimic biological processes are necessary in the production of hydrogen gas (H₂) as a climate-neutral fuel. For the first time, they were able to observe the transfer of protons in an enzyme reaction in a controlled experiment. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). In nature, biological nanomachines called hydrogenases catalyze hydrogen gas production. These enzymes are responsible for turning surplus energy in microorganisms into hydrogen gas (H₂), for example, as a fleeting by-product of photosynthesis or respiration.