Fuel use is considered the world today, especially its effect can trigger global warming.
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| MIT researchers just officially unveiled a device that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. (Picture from: http://inhabitat.com/) |
According to AFP news agency, the researchers from the Massachusetts Instute of Technology in the United States have developed an artificial leaf that can turn sunlight into chemical fuel that can be stored and used later. When placed in a container of water, silicon solar cells - with a catalytic material on each side - produces oxygen bubbles on one side and hydrogen bubbles on the other side, which can be separated and collected.
According to Daniel Nocera, who led the study, the gases are then fed into fuel cells that incorporate it back into water while generating electricity. The tool is the subject of papers in the journal Science yang'ditulis shared by six researchers from Sun Catalytix, a solar energy company founded by Nocera.
Nocera says, "leaf" is made of the whole of the material is abundant and inexpensive. Semi-conductor silicon sheet coated on one side with a cobalt-based catalyst, which releases oxygen, and the other side with a mixture of nickel-molybdenum-zinc, which separates hydrogen. "You can not be more portable again. You do not need a cable, this lightweight, and does not require a lot of additional equipment, other than a way to capture and store the gases bubble out,"he said.
According to Daniel Nocera, who led the study, the gases are then fed into fuel cells that incorporate it back into water while generating electricity. The tool is the subject of papers in the journal Science yang'ditulis shared by six researchers from Sun Catalytix, a solar energy company founded by Nocera.
Nocera says, "leaf" is made of the whole of the material is abundant and inexpensive. Semi-conductor silicon sheet coated on one side with a cobalt-based catalyst, which releases oxygen, and the other side with a mixture of nickel-molybdenum-zinc, which separates hydrogen. "You can not be more portable again. You do not need a cable, this lightweight, and does not require a lot of additional equipment, other than a way to capture and store the gases bubble out,"he said.
The cell is a silicon wafer (similar to current solar electric cells) which is coated on each side with separate catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen. The team developed a cobalt catalyst three years ago which releases oxygen when activated by sunlight. They then added a nickel-molybdenum-zinc alloy layer on the other side of the silicon wafer, which separates hydrogen from the H2O. Drop the wafer into water and expose to sunlight and voila — water splits into gasses, which then bubble to the surface. In order to be useful the gasses will need to be separated and the hydrogen captured and stored – a technical hurdle for energy production.
The technology offers a shortcut to producing hydrogen for energy. The promise of a clean energy economy based on hydrogen has had one big drawback – traditional methods require a lot of energy to split H2o, so the power produced in the end is simply a transfer of energy rather than a new form. The benefits of using photons to create hydrogen are enormous. A large pond could make the gas, which could then be stored and run through a fuel cell to produce electricity and heat on demand. The researchers envision the technology integrated into a tiny, algae-like material that, when immersed in water under the sun, could produce all the energy needed by a typical household on-site. *** [SRI | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 27102011]
The technology offers a shortcut to producing hydrogen for energy. The promise of a clean energy economy based on hydrogen has had one big drawback – traditional methods require a lot of energy to split H2o, so the power produced in the end is simply a transfer of energy rather than a new form. The benefits of using photons to create hydrogen are enormous. A large pond could make the gas, which could then be stored and run through a fuel cell to produce electricity and heat on demand. The researchers envision the technology integrated into a tiny, algae-like material that, when immersed in water under the sun, could produce all the energy needed by a typical household on-site. *** [SRI | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 27102011]
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