Direct sythesis of hydrogen from Light and Water

[PB666]

http://phys.org/news/2015-09-team-solar-water-splitting-technology.html#nRlv

This is a bit of a caveot emptor, they don't actually see hydrogen or oxygen which means it must be on a very small scale.

[Streetwind]

So the way I read this, they basically did an experiment that resulted in the statement "if we had instead built a machine capable of splitting water, then it would have split water"?

(I know it's an overexaggerated way of looking at it, but so is the headline, too. It's a neat concept, but my gut feeling says there won't be anything coming out of it in the next ten years...)

[KSK]

Interesting stuff and a decently written article. I didn't see any details about how they measured their photo-currents (I should go read the original paper) but presumably you need a connection (via your external circuit) between the positively charged substrate and the negatively charged nano-particles. Which doesn't sound too hard in itself - just place a metal foil over the top of your nanoparticle layer for example* - but building a working device which provides that electrical connection and allows sufficient water to actually get to your nanoparticles and allows the evolved hydrogen and oxygen to escape, is going to be a bit trickier. Not impossible I'm sure but a non-trivial piece of engineering.

*Edit - although Indium Tin Oxide on glass would work better since you also need to get light to your nanoparticles. Doh.

Edited September 8, 2015 by KSK

[PB666]

So the way I read this, they basically did an experiment that resulted in the statement "if we had instead built a machine capable of splitting water, then it would have split water"?

(I know it's an overexaggerated way of looking at it, but so is the headline, too. It's a neat concept, but my gut feeling says there won't be anything coming out of it in the next ten years...)

See KSKs comment on current. I think the issue here is whether they measured enough current, and if so why isn't a little tiny gas bubble or a trace of disolved hydrogen not apparent.