Scientists have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, a revelation that may have the potential to bolster the renewable energy sector.
The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.
The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.
Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times
The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.
The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.
Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times