A More Efficient Method for Harvesting Hydrogen

University of Michigan Engineering researchers have developed a method for improving the efficiency of Solar Water Splitting, a process that replicates photosynthesis by using the sun to separate hydrogen from water. By harvesting previously wasted infrared light, the researchers were able to accelerate the solar water splitting process, increasing the amount of hydrogen they were able to harvest.

To test this method, they used a large lens to concentrate sunlight onto a semi-conductor submerged in a chamber full of water. The temperature in the chamber reaches a very warm 70 degrees Celsius (200 degrees Fahrenheit). The semiconductor is specifically designed to handle the high temperatures without degrading. Results show that this method has achieved 9.2% efficiency in converting water to hydrogen for indoor tests, and 6.1% for outdoor tests. This method shows major improvements over past methods, which were only able to achieve efficiencies less than 3%.

As hydrogen continues to become a desirable alternative to fossil fuels, this method could provide a clean, cheap and efficient method for producing hydrogen. The researchers are continuing to improve efficiency and prepare this method for large scale production.

Read more:
https://news.engin.umich.edu/2023/01/...

Paper:
"Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of more than 9% in photocatalytic water splitting"
Journal: Nature
January 3, 2023
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05399-1

Zetian Mi is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan.
https://mi.engin.umich.edu/

Clarification:
The video states that "the catalyst is able to harvest the infrared light." Actually, the device uses infrared light to speed the reaction with heat, but the semiconductor does not harvest infrared light directly.

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