Efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels are advancing on various significant fronts. Such initiatives include research focused on more efficient production of gaseous hydrogen fuel by using solar energy to break water down into its components of hydrogen and oxygen. Recently, in an article published in the journal Nature Energy, lead author Yong Yan, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, reported a key breakthrough in the basic science essential for progress toward this goal.
The article, "Multiple exciton generation for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reactions with quantum yields exceeding 100%," reports on the investigative work that Yan carried out along with colleagues affiliated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Colorado School of Mines and San Diego State University. Essentially, they created what is known as a quantum dot photoelectrochemical cell that catalytically achieved quantum efficiency for hydrogen gas production exceeding 100% -- in the case of their experiments an efficiency approaching 114%.
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