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Catalysis

A step closer to a methanol economy

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A ruthenium catalyst has been developed that, at a few parts per million, releases hydrogen gas from methanol, a simple bulk chemical. The advance might allow methanol to be used as a hydrogen source for fuelling vehicles. See Letter p.85

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Figure 1: Simplified mechanism for the catalytic generation of hydrogen from methanol.

Notes

  1. *This article and the paper under discussion3 were published online on 27 February 2013.

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Correspondence to Douglas W. Stephan.

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Stephan, D. A step closer to a methanol economy. Nature 495, 54–55 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11955

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