Generate Hydrogen using Solar Cells

Professor Daniel Nocera who learns from nature to take the exciting possibilities of cheap green energy from water. Nocera presented the results of research on creating "Artificial Leaf" in the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Artificial leaf will be used to obtain hydrogen fuel and oxygen by splitting water.

Hydrogen will be generated using solar cells. Hydrogen will then be stored and used in fuel cells to generate electricity. Artificial leaf expected to be a source of cheap electricity in developing countries and support each house to be able to have its own power plant.

Previously, Nocera and his colleagues in the Sun Catalytix have make an Electrolyzer which serves to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. They have cooperated with India's Tata industrial. Now, Sun Catalytix will develop their products to make hydrogen directly from solar cells that could be used as renewable sources for hydrogen fuel and electricity.

Although the research still shows a very low level of efficiency, but Nocera remains optimistic could improve the durability of materials and efficiency in converting sunlight to hydrogen by using solar cells.

A prototype of artificial leaf in laboratory has operation for 45 hours without a decrease in performance. Sun Catalytix says, that it would takes at least three to five years to the possibility of making a commercial product.