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The big ideas that are changing everything

Artificial Leaf

One of the major obstacles to commercializing fuel cell power is coming up with reliable and inexpensive ways to generate hydrogen. But recently, MIT researchers announced the development of a device that simulates photosynthesis by using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen ten times more efficiently than a real leaf.

Similar to a conventional solar cell, the artificial leaf consists of a thin sheet of silicon bound to a cobalt-based catalyst on one side, which releases oxygen, and to a nickel-molybdenum-zinc alloy on the other side, which releases hydrogen. When placed into a container of water and exposed to sunlight, the device generates two streams of bubbles that can be collected and stored as fuel to generate power. And unlike existing electrolysis systems, the device will even work in dirty water.

The new technology represents a major step in harvesting solar energy not only to generate electricity, but to create chemical fuel that could supply areas of the world without access to reliable sources of power.

For information: Daniel Nocera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139; phone: 617-253-5537; fax: 617-253-7670; email: nocera@mit.edu; Web site: www.mit.edu
Daniel Burrus' Top Twenty Technology-Driven Trends for 2012