Devices made of readily available oxide and carbon-based materials can produce clean hydrogen from water over weeks - according to new research.
Devices made of readily available oxide and carbon-based materials can produce clean hydrogen from water over weeks - according to new research.
The findings, co-led by Dr Virgil Andrei, a Research Fellow at St John's College, University of Cambridge, with academics at Imperial College London, could help overcome one of the key issues in solar fuel production, where current earth-abundant light-absorbing materials are limited through either their performance or stability.
Underexplored Materials for Light Harvesting
Hydrogen fuel will play a critical role in the transition to full decarbonisation and reaching the UK’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. With most hydrogen currently supplied from fossil fuels, researchers are now working to find ways to generate hydrogen more sustainably. One way to achieve this is to make devices that can harvest sunlight and split water to produce green hydrogen.
While many light-absorbing materials have been tested for green hydrogen production, most degrade quickly when submerged in water. For example, perovskites are the fastest-growing materials in terms of light-harvesting efficiency, but are unstable in water and contain lead. This presents a risk of leakage; therefore, researchers have been working to develop lead-free alternatives.
Read more at St John’s College, University of Cambridge
Image: BiOI pixels produce hydrogen bubbles under illumination (Credit: Dr Virgil Andrei, St John's College, Cambridge)
