Are you curious about Metalogas?
— THE STORY BEHIND THE INVENTOR —
When I was a child, I got a chemistry box from my parents. I still remember the feeling of excitement when I put a piece of metal into a glass tube filled of acid. Bubbles of hydrogen gas formed on the surface of the metal. I followed the instruction in the manual and I lighted a match and approached it from the tube. A small blast took place with a blue flame and tiny water droplets formed on the top of the glassware. This was the proof that hydrogen gas was formed by the reaction of a metal in acid. Interestingly, the bottom of the tube with the metal and acid was warm, not caused by the explosion; but because thermal energy was produced when the acid attacks the metal.
I found that amazing, and it inspired me to become a chemist. I wanted to understand the unseen. The hidden dream in my heart was to become a researcher but I did not dare to say that because I was not the brightest student at school and had low self-confidence. Early teenager, I wanted to make a small chemistry lab in the basement of the family house. Because of my slow learning aptitude, my study were tedious. But my family and teacher believed in me and help me to gain self-confidence. I discovered that if I work hard, everything becomes possible. Eventually, I ended up with a chemistry bachelor degree and started a thesis at university.
Are you curious about Metalogas?
— THE STORY BEHIND THE INVENTION —
In 2014, I became professor at university and my heart was directing my research towards energy materials and energy devices. One day, I had a dream during the night: "I was going in the basement of the house of my parent, I approached the small room where I wanted to have a small chemistry lab when I was a child, but when I opened the door, this was a large and new built chemistry lab". One year after, a new lab was built at university and I placed my research activity in that lab. Today, I'm leading a fantastic research group producing good science, new findings, new patents and new start-ups.
Recently, I had another dream during the night. I could see the two separated half-reactions: one with zinc that oxidizes and one with protons that reduce into hydrogen gas. This was the same reaction as in my childhood. But this time, the two half-reactions were separated in space. This could be achieved if two electrodes were separated by a salt bridge. Then I understood that the heat produced when a metal reacts with an acid could be transformed into electricity. That was it! A metal could be oxidized at one electrode, the protons of an acid could be reduced into hydrogen at the other electrode and electrical current should be produced in the same time.
Basic principle of the invention to generate hydrogen and electricity from the reaction of a metal and an acid
