A new class of materials, the double halide perovskites, can have the right properties to divide water, and produce fuel from hydrogen and oxygen. Solar energy is clean and abundant. But when the sun is not shining, it must store energy in batteries or through a process called photocatalysis, in which solar energy is used to make fuels.
In the division of photocatalytic water, sunlight separates water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen and oxygen can recombine in a fuel cell to release energy. In a new effort, published in Applied Physics Letters, a candidate material is identified to perform this same task.
«If we can find a material that could be useful as a water division photocatalyst, then it would be a breakthrough,» said Feliciano Giustino, co-author of the article.
