Exciting new research demonstrates that solar energy could be used create hydrogen fuel.
At the Eindhoven University of Technology, researchers have unveiled a new solar cell prototype that can actually make gas from water by using the electricity from the solar cell to set off a chemical reaction. The team accomplished this feat by shaping the gallium phosphide into many tiny nanowires.
This news could change the global fuel source entirely to hydrogen fuel, which emits far fewer harmful compounds into the air. It could replace greenhouse gas-emitting fuels, all while being made by something desperately needed in the first place, solar energy.
Hydrogen fuel can be made by splitting hydrogen atoms, and that’s where gallium phosphide enters the picture. Previously, the only way to split hydrogen atoms with solar power was to attach a battery to a silicon solar cell. This is expensive, so researchers have been looking for the a material that will make the process more efficient.
Even though gallium phosphide is not great at absorbing light, scientists worked around this by building a grid of tiny nanowires to increase the surface area. This insight increased the amount of hydrogen fuel the solar cells produced ten times. The models now yield 2.9% hydrogen, though solar-cell battery combinations can do 15% at the moment.
In addition to the boost in hydrogen production, the team also points out that by using the nanowires, they were able to use ten thousand times less gallium phosphide overall. Gallium phosphide is a precious metal, and extraction is costly to the environment. The reduced material use, the increased efficiency, and the coupling of two advantageous green technologies make the new solar cell prototype a triple whammy for the environment.
Image (c) Eindhoven University of Technology
