Solar Cell Breakthrough: “Artificial Leaf” Beats Photosynthesis At Its Own Game
In the latest solar cell breakthrough, a new “artificial leaf”mimics the electron transfer of photosynthesis, at a much faster rate than observed in nature.
artificial leaf
New Bionic Leaf Could Solve Solar Energy Storage Problem
Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are developing a new bionic leaf that can convert energy from sunlight into an energy-dense fuel, imitating the photosynthetic process of plants. We’ve covered the artificial leaf concept before but aside from using a cool new name (bionic leaf sounds much cooler than artificial … [continued]
Artificial Leaf Technology Clears Major Development Hurdle
The technology of artificial photosynthesis has cleared a major hurdle in its development — researchers from Arizona State University and Argonne National Laboratory have identified and addressed one of the primary limitations in their design of a functional artificial leaf. The creation of a functional artificial leaf — one capable … [continued]
For Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Blue Is The New Green
A team of researchers at Argonne National Laboratory has figured out an efficient way to split hydrogen gas from water, using a low cost cobalt-based catalyst instead of pricey platinum. Hmmm, well, we were just wondering when hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles would start nudging ahead of plug-in EVs in … [continued]
Low-Cost Hydrogen Breakthrough Uses Solar Power And Rust
Hydrogen fuel cells are emerging as key players in the clean energy landscape of the future, except for one problem: it takes a lot of energy to make hydrogen, and here in the US, the preferred source of that energy appears to be natural gas. That’s hardly a sustainable solution. … [continued]
Harnessing The Power Of Pepto-Bismol For Carbon Capture
Don’t go running for the medicine cabinet just yet when your car runs out of gas, but a research team at the University of Delaware is working on a low cost, high efficiency carbon capture system that uses an active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. … [continued]
New “Artificial Leaf” Concept Could Blow Up Fuel Cell Market
The idea of an “artificial leaf” sounds simple enough: Take a small, cheap, light-collecting device the size of a typical leaf, dunk it in a quart of water, and use solar energy to generate enough hydrogen gas for powering a small fuel cell. Scaled up, these solar-derived fuel cells would … [continued]
“Artificial Leaf” Makes Clean Energy From Dirty Water
What’s all this fuss about silly federal research projects? If one day in the not too distant future you can go to the dollar store, buy a thin, flat device the size of a playing card, dunk it in a quart of dirty bath water and use it to generate … [continued]
MIT’s “Artifical Leaf” For Solar Energy Storage & Fuel Moves Forward
Bringing the concept of an “artificial leaf” closer to reality, a team of researchers at MIT has published a detailed analysis of all the factors that could limit the efficiency of such a system. The new analysis lays out a roadmap for a research program to improve the efficiency of … [continued]
HyperSolar Envisions Solar Powered Hydrogen “Farms”
Last year the solar company HyperSolar, Inc. filed a patent application for a solar powered system that creates renewable methane gas from water, which it has been testing out at California’s Salton Sea. Just last week, the company announced that it has completed a proof-of-concept prototype for a solar-powered hydrogen … [continued]
