Palladium

Science post (Woohoo!)! As you'll read in today's fun fact, palladium is a champion at trapping hydrogen gas. It's major downfall is cost, which is why we are still dependent on oil and haven't seen more hydrogen fuel cell cars around just yet. But palladium's affinity for trapping hydrogen in its crystal lattice (read: structure) has stimulated research into other possible metals that can be used for storage.

(Google Images)

So how exactly does a hydrogen fuel cell work? While I claim to be nothing more than an internet searching "expert," the fuel cell uses hydrogen as its primary fuel and requires oxygen as an oxidant (read: facilitates a reaction). In between the hydrogen and oxygen is an electrolyte substance where a chemical reaction can take place. The energy produced in the reaction can be used to power a car (see below) or other engine. What is most important about a hydrogen fuel cell is that it releases water instead of carbon dioxide, a much more eco-friendly or green energy producing process.

(Google Images)

So your next question, where does palladium come into play? Palladium has the ability to store hydrogen by trapping the gas molecules in its chemical structure. This is needed, especially if we want to see it in cars, as it provides a more stable and safer way to have a hydrogen tank without the fear of explosion (At this point you should be thinking Hindenburg blimp disaster). But as mentioned earlier, palladium is EXPENSIVE so scientists are currently trying to find a solution by looking at hydrogen storage in other metals. But like all experiments, good things take time, so we have yet to see mass production of hydrogen fuel cell cars.


Fun Fact: Palladium is an ideal catalytic converter because it can absorb 900 times its volume in hydrogen gas without any external pressure. (If I could choose, I would want to absorb 900 times my volume in dark chocolate, but hey to each their own.)