Science Daily January 4, 2023
Taking inspiration from the way plants can convert sunlight into chemical energy using carbon dioxide from the air, researchers in Switzerland have invented a solar-powered artificial leaf, built on a novel electrode capable of harvesting water from the air for conversion into hydrogen fuel. The system combines semiconductor-based technology and the electrodes that are porous and transparent. When the device was simply exposed to sunlight, it took water from the air and produced hydrogen gas. The coating of various semiconductors on the substrates was established including Fe2O3 (chemical bath deposition), CuSCN and Cu2O (electrodeposition), and conjugated polymers (dip coating), and liquid-phase photoelectrochemical performance commensurate with flat FTO ((Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide)) substrates. They demonstrated gas phase H2 production with a polymer semiconductor photocathode membrane assembly at an efficiency of 40%…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Scanning electron micrographs of the Fe2O3 coated TPCS at a) a wide angle and b) zoomed view… Credit: Advanced Materials, 2023, 2208740Â