In a 13 March 2019 article at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) web site, Maria Gallucci reports on a claim by researchers
at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium that they have produced
a prototype solar panel that takes moisture from the air and splits it
directly into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Rather than use
electrolysis, this is referred to as direct solar-splitting technology.
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Originally Posted by Maria Gallucci, IEEE Spectrum
The solar panel measures 1.65 meters long—roughly the height of a kitchen refrigerator, or this reporter—and has a rated power output of about 210 watts. The system can convert 15 percent of the solar energy it receives into hydrogen, the team says. That’s a significant leap from 0.1 percent efficiency they first achieved 10 years ago.
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Originally Posted by Maria Gallucci, IEEE Spectrum
However, Martens’s lab was tight-lipped about its technology. Tom Bosserez, a post-doctoral researcher, declined to disclose any specifics, citing intellectual property concerns. He says only that the lab specializes in “catalysts, membranes, and adsorbents.”
“Using our expertise in this area, we were able to develop a system that is very efficient in taking water from the air and splitting it into hydrogen by using solar energy,” Bosserez wrote in an email. Asked about some of the engineering challenges they faced during a decade of development, he says, “The most difficult part is getting the water out of the air.”
Academic papers offer scattered clues about the technology, though Bosserez says their research “goes beyond what we publish.” In recent years, the engineers have studied the efficacy of a variety of materials, including porous, multi-junction silicon solar cells with “micrometer-scale pore dimensions”; thin-film catalysts made from manganese (III) oxide; and a poly (vinyl alcohol) anion exchange membrane involving a potassium hydroxide solution and nickel-based catalysts.
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Full story here :-
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise...oduce-hydrogen