OREANDA-NEWS. Specialists from South Ural State University (SUSU, Chelyabinsk) have discovered a substance from among the so-called titanium-containing hexaferrites, which is highly effective as a catalyst for electrochemical reactions for obtaining oxygen from water, which is then used as a fuel, the press service of the university told RIA Novosti.

Any vehicle while driving leaves a carbon footprint, so scientists around the world are increasingly considering water as a source of environmentally friendly fuel. Hydrogen and oxygen obtained from the decomposition of water can be used in various fields.

To successfully decompose water into chemical elements, an electric current is used. It is under its action that hydrogen is released in an acidic medium, and oxygen in an alkaline medium. The efficiency of these processes depends on the catalysts. For the first time, SUSU scientists have tested how barium hexaferrites manifest themselves as a substance that accelerates the electrolysis reaction. These iron oxide compounds were chosen because the scientific community is trying to move away from the use of expensive platinum metals in catalysts, the university explained.

“The bets were made primarily on nickel-doped hexaferrites. However, they turned out to be advantageous only from a thermodynamic point of view. Surprisingly, the high kinetic activity of titanium-containing hexaferrite, associated with the high mobility of charge carriers inside the material, was a surprise. in the amount of oxygen received, "said Pavel Abramov, Doctor of Chemistry, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Crystal-Chemical Design of Functional Materials, Research Institute" Advanced Materials and Resource-Saving Technologies "of SUSU.

The research results were published in the international scientific journal Materials Chemistry and Physics.