Way to produce clean Hydrogen Fuel using Sunlight

                Stanford scientists have developed a new way to produce hydrogen fuel using sunlight, in an effort to tackle one of the world’s biggest energy challenges – clean fuel for transportation. Hydrogen fuel has long been touted as a clean alternative to gasoline. “Millions of cars could be powered by clean hydrogen fuel if it were cheap and widely available,” said Yi Cui, an associate professor at Stanford University.

                Unlike gasoline-powered vehicles, hydrogen cars themselves are emissions free. However, making most hydrogen fuel involves natural gas in a process that releases CO₂ into the atmosphere. To address the problem, researchers focused on photovoltaic water splitting which consists of a solar-powered electrode immersed in water.

                When sunlight hits the electrode, it generates an electric current that splits the water into its constituent parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Conventional solar electrodes made of silicon quickly corrode when exposed to oxygen, a key byproduct of water splitting. Researchers presented a new approach using bismuth vanadate, an inexpensive compound that absorbs sunlight and generates modest amounts of electricity.