New research advances open the door to efficient hydrogen production from solar energy – without using the scarce metal platinum. In the reactor at the chemistry laboratory at Chalmers, bubbles of hydrogen gas can be easily seen with the naked eye as they form – showing that photocatalysis is happening efficiently. When a lamp, simulating sunlight, is directed at a beaker of water containing nanoparticles of electrically conductive plastic, small hydrogen gas bubbles almost immediately begin to rise through the water. The gas is then guided through tubes to a hydrogen storage container, where the amount of hydrogen produced can be read in real time.
Photographer: Chalmers University of Technology | Mia Halleröd Palmgren