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Materials can be engineered to have enhanced hydrogen storage capabilities during electrolysis by modifying the composition of the first few atomic layers. The changes in composition of the near surface can radically affect the electrochemical insertion of hydrogen. The hydrogen stored under galvanostatic conditions was investigated after altering the composition of the Pd surface with various combinations of Pb, Bi, and Pt. It was found that the addition of a underpotential deposition of Bi on the Pd cathode increases the hydrogen content from PdH 0.77 to PdH 0.81 at −10.9 mA cm −2 , and the addition of Pt to the Bi further increased the hydrogen content to PdH 0.87 . This work provides a fundamental basis for the future design of surface alloys yielding enhanced electrochemical hydrogen storage in Pd and other hydrogen absorbing materials.

In research articles and patents several methods have been proposed for the extraction of zero-point energy from the vacuum. None of the proposals have been reliably demonstrated, yet they remain largely unchallenged. In this paper the underlying thermodynamics principles of equilibrium, detailed balance, and conservation laws are presented for zero-point energy extraction. The proposed methods are separated into three classes: nonlinear processing of the zero-point field, mechanical extraction using Casimir cavities, and the pumping of atoms through Casimir cavities. The first two approaches are shown to violate thermodynamics principles, and therefore appear not to be feasible, no matter how innovative their execution. The third approach, based upon stochastic electrodynamics, does not appear to violate these principles, but may face other obstacles. Initial experimental results are tantalizing but, given the lower than expected power output, inconclusive.