Assessing water quality impact on practical on-demand H2 production using porous silicon

In the shift from fossil fuels, green hydrogen (H2) is poised to become a vital fuel source. While large-scale green H2 production methods continue to improve, portable, on-demand technologies remain limited—especially for emergency response and remote applications. Chemical storage materials, which release H2 via chemical reactions, offer a promising solution. Porous silicon (Si) reacts with alkaline water to produce H2, but the impact of its physical properties on the yield and rate is not well understood. This study explores porous Si made via magnesiothermic reduction at various heating rates. These parameters produced variations in crystallinity, surface area, and porosity, which were evaluated for H2 evolution performance. Samples were also tested in ocean, river, lake, well, and rainwater to simulate real-world use. Comparisons suggest that pores <10 nm and surface areas >100 m2 g-1 are key for maintaining high performance in diverse water sources for on-demand chemical H2 storage.