A new discovery by some Southern California scientists could bring the auto industry one step closer to being able to use hydrogen to fuel cars. KPBS reporter Beth Ford Roth has the story.
UCLA chemistry professor Omar Yaghi is finding a new use for an old invention. In the early 90s, Yaghi invented something he dubbed MOFs or metal-organic frameworks, which contain small pores that attract hydrogen molecules.
The professor and his colleagues recently discovered that the MOFs can be made to store hydrogen at pressures and temperatures that are usually impossible.
Yaghi: You can actually concentrate more hydrogen within the pores than without this material, therefore you don't need to use high pressure or low temperature to concentrate the hydrogen in a small volume.
A small volume like a fuel cell, that could be used one day to run a car, or even a cell phone or laptop. The National Science Foundation helped fund this research. Beth Ford Roth, KPBS News.
