A team of researchers from Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London have achieved what is being called a “significant milestone” in sustainable energy technology.
Publishing their research in the journal, Nature Energy, they have devised a pioneering approach to harnessing sunlight for efficient and stable hydrogen production using cost-effective organic materials. In particular, they have looked to address a longstanding challenge facing solar-to-hydrogen systems which is the instability of organic materials, including polymers and small molecules in water, and the inefficiencies that are caused by energy losses at crucial interfaces.
They brought in a multi-layer device architecture that integrates an organic photoactive layer with a protective graphite sheet functionalised with a nickel-iron catalyst, resulting in an “unprecedented combination of high efficiency and durability, setting a new benchmark for the field”. It was able to surpass earlier designs that degraded within hours, showing operational stability for days, while also supporting a wide range of organic materials which offers flexibility for future innovations in solar energy.
The team’s focus is now on building on this foundation, with the outcomes of the study set to spark further advancements in the field. They want to explore improvements in material stability and scale the technology for industrial use.
